Sailor Moon S:The Golden Heart
by ThoughtfulTikal
Summary: What if Professor Tomoe didn't hire the Witches 5, but instead he hired a mysterious high school graduate named Lola? And what if Ash was given the chance to a journey besides his usual adventure?
1. Anxious Allies and Determined Foes

**Sailormoon S: The Golden Heart : Act I**

**2 days after Kaolinite's death**

"Lola, I'm counting on you," a male voice spoke through the phone.

"Don't worry, Professor. I think I have what it takes for this job," the woman named Lola replied confidently.

As Lola set her phone back to the ringer, she shifted her eyes towards a framed picture sitting on her dresser. It was an image of a female with ruby-colored eyes and scarlet hair, clothed in a white lab coat with a petite smile on her face. This was none other than Eugeal, Lola's rivaled and older cousin.

Besides her jade-green pupils, Lola had an indigo owl-shaped haircut. She was wearing a lemony tank top, jet-black pants, tiny dark earrings, azure fingerless gloves, and violet knee-length boots.

After graduating from high school, she was 18 years old, and had developed a competitive spark with Eugeal. Recently getting fired from a minimum wage fast food job, Eugeal had high hopes for getting employed by Professor Tomoe. Days after, the older woman told Lola that with her rash attitude alone, she wouldn't be suitable for the job. But fortunately for Lola, Professor Tomoe had noticed her first.

"Well Eugeal... looks like I'll be the one to prove you wrong. This job should be a piece of cake," Lola made a short laugh while viewing her cousin's photo.

Afterward, Lola arose from her desk and walked towards her closet. She opened it to find a white lab coat, so she grabbed the outfit from its hanger and slipped it over her regular attire.

Then Lola headed towards her body-length mirror, and viewed her entire self. With her round hips, this coat looked stylish.

'It's a shame, really. This lab coat would have been Eugeal's, but it looks like the Professor's noticed my charm!' Lola placed both hands on her hips and made a cunning grin.

* * *

**3 months after Ash wins the Sinnoh League**

"So Ash, do you think you've finally become a Pokemon Master?" Delia asked her son, holding her coffee mug with both hands.

"Even after winning the Sinnoh League Trophy, I still have a feeling there's more gym leaders out there waiting for me."

Before taking a sip from her warm drink, Ash's mother decided to respond to this confident answer.

"Ohh, Ash," Delia let out a warm smile. "You reminded me so much of your father just now. He didn't let anything stop him from his Pokemon journey either. You both have that same drive - not to let anything put you down."

Moved by his mother's words, Ash began to wonder about his upcoming challenges against Pokemon gym leaders. They would definitely be tougher than the ones he did defeat. But what about the other mysteries that lied along with it? Where exactly would they be? What type of friends would he meet? And who else would he have to vanquish from capturing Pokemon?

"Yep. Just like always, I'm gonna give it everything I got!" the young boy got up from his chair and formed a victory pose, with Pikachu sitting firmly on his shoulder.

"Pi-ka-chu!" Even if he were wearing a light-cerulean shirt and denim jeans instead of his trainer attire, Ash never held back his honest sense of pride.

"But Ash, there's still something I want you to promise me," Delia interrupted. By the tone in her voice, Ash's mother appeared to be glum, so he grew concerned.

"What is it Mom?" Ash returned to his chair. Suddenly, the single child found his mother's hands clung to his. In her eyes he saw sadness.

"Promise me that when you're out on the road again, you don't forget about me." Shortly after this, few tears streamed down Delia's cheeks. Times like these were rare, and Ash had just been lucky to witness it for himself; to imagine how emotional his mother acted while he was away.

While Ash would in fact be away from home, he had discovered and caught new Pokemon, collected several gym badges, and made friends along the way. On his own, the adventurous traveler developed a large amount of courage and skill with not only his Pokemon, but within his own personality.

"Don't worry, Mom. We always think of you when we're out on the road, right Pikachu?" Ash looked at his Pikachu for a response.

"Pika pi," the mouse Pokemon answered his owner.

Suddenly, three polite knocks came from the front door.

"That may be Brock or Dawn, Ash. Can you go see while I check on our dinner?"

"OK, mom." With Pikachu remaining on his shoulder, Ash rose from the table and headed towards the front door while Delia went into the kitchen.

Ash's excitement rose when he grabbed the doorknob and began to twist it. It had been weeks since he got to hang out with his friends, so picturing their smiling faces behind the door wasn't difficult.

Unfortunately, the door-knocker was neither Brock or Dawn, but instead it was a tall woman carrying garnet eyes, dressed in a fuchsia school uniform. Her dark-green hair lengthened past her back. With her ravishing good looks, Ash knew Brock wouldn't let her pass without a romantic statement.

"Who are you?" Ash asked the mysterious woman.

"My name is Trista. I've come here to ask you of a huge favor. Is it alright if I come in and explain?"

* * *

The scrumptious and zesty meal prepared by Ms. Ketchum was spaghetti and meatballs. As delicious as it both sounded and looked, Trista assured Delia that she wasn't hungry. So Delia and Ash dug into their portions, while Pikachu and Delia's Mr. Mime were given Pokemon food.

"So, what brings you here, Miss Meioh?" asked Delia, twirling spaghetti noodles around her fork.

"Well, you see, Ms. Ketchum, there is an evil that me and my friends are up against that we have had difficulty destroying completely. That's why I had no choice but to ask you're son for help."

Delia was processing Trista's words through her brain, then set down her fork once she gathered words to respond with. Traveling and battling with Pokemon wasn't as dangerous as what Ash was now being asked to help with; besides the fact that he had only stayed home for the past 2 months.

"We respect your eagerness, Miss Meioh, but there must be someone else who you can get help from. Ash is just a boy." At that instant Ash became stunned by his mother's last words and froze in the middle of eating. Even Pikachu became half-shocked, and Mr. Mime was surprised.

"True. There may be people stronger than Ash. There may be even people who are larger than him. But the truth is, I don't know anyone else."

Rather than make him feel pressured, this explanation only made Ash feel important and more needed. But Delia was afraid of letting her son go again; this situation didn't contrast from the way her husband had decided to leave.

With his fork in one hand, Ash placed both fists on the table and spoke for himself.

"I'll take on your request. As long as I can bring Pikachu with me." He had deliberately ignored his mother, but not to be in a rebellious manner.

"Pika!" came in Pikachu's high-pitched voice.

It was at this moment that Trista got the chance to get a full look at Ash's Pikachu. His appearance was so adorable.

"Yes. You can bring Pikachu along with you."

"But Ash!" Delia broke into the conversation. "You just came back from the Sinnoh Region. Don't you wanna stay a few more days before you leave again?"

The length of Ash's journey was unknown to Trista, but still she held understanding for Ash's mother.

Rather than interrupt the family's conversation, she kept her lips sealed.

"But mom! If Trista says that her friends need my help, why shouldn't I go?" When he looked back into his mother's eyes, Ash could sense those same depressive feelings. He didn't want to disappoint his mother, but never had he remembered ignoring any requests for help; Delia was completely aware of this. Oddly enough, Trista felt as though she had seen this same act of character before; so why was it only a fog in her mind?

"...You're right, Ash. Just make sure you don't get into too much trouble. Stay by Miss Meioh at all times, and don't forget to pack extra underwear."

"Moooooom, you're embarrassing me!" Even with her quiet personality, Trista couldn't help but smile and make an internal laugh. In the strangest way, Ash and Delia reminded Trista of Serena and Rini; Still being in her teenage years, Serena didn't fail to embarrass Rini with her clumsy and temperamental attitude. Once, when Lita forgot to pack Rini's lunch bag for school, Serena took the situation and gave the pink sweetheart everything but sugary foods. Or a time where both Serena and Rini battled over whose gift was better for Darien's 18th birthday.

"Ok, I'm ready to go!" Ash's voice bellowed from upstairs. Now Ash was in his usual Pokemon Trainer gear. The last thing he needed to do was place his black and red cap on his head. This head wear was close to Ash; a symbolic piece in his Pokemon career.

"Alright then," Trista promptly rose from the table, then turned her eyes towards Delia. "Ms. Ketchum, thank you for letting me borrow your son. I promise to take good care of him," Trista extended her arm for a handshake from Ash's mother.

"Oh, it's nothing," Delia kindly accepted the handshake. "Him and his father are the same when it comes to things like this. It's just watching them leave that's hard," Delia placed one hand to her chest and looked away sadly.

"Don't worry, Ms. Ketchum. I'll make sure to return your son home soon," Trista assured the single mother.

"Thank you, Miss Meioh."

"Mime!" Not to mention Mr. Mime became grateful for Trista's promise and clasped its hands.

"Oh, it's no problem," Trista returned a delighted smile to the psychic-clown Pokemon.

* * *

With its windy conditions, the weather outside carried slate-gray skies. Instead of shining its awesome bright rays across Pallet Town, the sun was hidden behind the clouds.

Stopping only a few inches before the dirt road, Trista pulled out a magical wand from her shirt pocket. And suddenly a strange lavender glow flashed, causing everyone except for Trista to shield their eyes. While Ash, Delia, and Mr. Mime used their hands, Pikachu turned around and used Ash's hair to cover his face.

The young woman that Ash had led into his home now carried a different set of clothes. She was wearing a ivory leotard with a V-shaped collar, a ebony skirt and choker around her neck, knee-length boots, blanched elbow-length gloves, blush earrings, a golden tiara embedded with garnet, and in her hand was a key-like staff topped with a heart. This extended weapon was known as the Garnet Orb.

Ash, Delia, and both their Pokemon's eyes widened in astonishment when the light faded and they witnessed Trista's super transformation.

"Oh my!" Delia exclaimed.

"Miiiime!" Mr. Mime took a similar emotion.

"W-w-what happened to your clothes?" Ash was completely starstruck and couldn't mend his stuttering.

"Pika!"

"I'll explain on the way," Trista responded with her back still turned away. She knew she'd get these sort of reactions; when Ash reached her universe, her sailor suit wouldn't be the only amazement.

Seconds later, Trista tapped the ground with the bottom of her staff, causing a large silver door to appear from thin air. This left everyone in awe; Ms. Ketchum with a wonder of where exactly her son was being taken to. Nobody mentioned Ash having to travel through dimensions.

Ash's mouth was agape when he saw what lurked behind the Space-Time Door. In it was dark amethyst portal, swirling endlessly. Ash became curious as to how long this supernatural ride would take, and he took a few steps towards it.

"We must hurry. This portal won't stay open forever," Trista began to head towards the Space-Time Door.

After Ash gave a nod to Trista, he turned around to give both Delia and Mr. Mime a bidding farewell.

"Bye, Mom!" Ash waved his arm while the other was on his backpack. Suddenly Delia noticed something that stumped her mind. As Ash was waving goodbye, there was a smile on both his and Pikachu's faces. Were they really up about Trista's request and not the least bit afraid of growing homesick?

"Pikaaa!" The Pokemon joined Ash and waved its short arm.

Ms. Ketchum knew that once Ash left, she would have to become strong; not only for his sake, but for his also. Soon enough, the lone mother would have to realize that Ash was loyal to the very end for anyone who needed help; even if they came from a different universe.

Coming to part of this realization, Delia gave a smile back to his son and its Pikachu.

"Bye Ash and Pikachu! I'll be waiting for you two!" She never stopped to rest her arm from the waving, just like she would never stop thinking about her one and only precious child.

And so these last words echoed when Ash finally entered the Space-Time Door.

Moments later, the pathway vanished, and the gateway disappeared when Delia and Mr. Mime ceased swaying their hands.

'I really DO hope those two come back soon', Delia thought to herself.

"Mr. Mime, why don't we try that Chocolate Fudge Brownie recipe from the cooking channel?" Delia started a conversation, and gave a pleasant expression to her Pokemon.

Mr. Mime rubbed its stomach at the thought of baking that delectable dessert. It turned around and headed towards the front door while Delia's eyes remained on the spot where Ash had been standing.

'We'll make sure to save you and Pikachu some of the brownie, Ash.'

* * *

**Ash's P.O.V.**

And to think that Pokemon were the coolest things that ever existed... I hated to admit it, but from what Trista told me, the Sailor Scouts sounded just as strong and powerful as Pokemon. On our way to Trista's universe, Trista told me about not only her secret identity, but about her friends who helped her fight crime and save the world. Just like Pokemon, each Sailor has their own elemental ability. They don't have every single type like Pokemon, but when united they can unleash a serious amount of energy.

Trista told me that I'd have to hide Pikachu until we reach her friends' house. A world without Pokemon? It just seems so unreal...

But I wonder what their leader's like. When I asked Trista about it, she got the strangest look on her face, and told me that I'd see for my self when we got there. It turns out Trista already told her friends about me. Still, I guess I'll learn about their leader when I reach their house...

* * *

"Rini, if you know what's good for you, stay out of this conversation! We're talking about adult things," Serena ordered her future-daughter.

"Serena, it's OK if she stays in here with us. Really!" Mina pleaded with the temperamental blond.

"I agree with Mina. Soon Rini will have to learn about these things," added Ami.

Day after day, Serena and Rini always argued over the silliest things, but that didn't mean their friends enjoyed it.

"Yeah, Serena. Now why don't you let Mina finish her story?" Rei fussed while sitting beside Rini.

Mr. Hino paused his work of sweeping the Hikawa Temple grounds to greet a pair of unexpected visitors.

"Why hello, Miss Meioh. Is there anything I can do for you?" asked Mr. Hino. The smile he gave to Trista was larger than his bald head itself. Fortunately for Trista, she had learned from Rei his habits of flirting with beautiful young women.

"No thank you. I've brought a friend with me to come visit Rei," answered Trista.

"Oh. Well she's still in her room with her friends as we speak. May I ask who this young boy is right here?"

"My names Ash. Nice to meet ya," Ash shook Mr. Hino's hand. Suddenly Mr. Hino noticed Pikachu and grew suspicious. Rei's crows named Phobos and Deimos were the only animals that her grandpa noticed while cleaning their shrine.

"And what's this animal on your shoulder?" Mr. Hino pointed his index finger directly at Pikachu. Ash and Trista grew fearful for being suspected. Pikachu wished that him and his friends were back in the Kanto Region.

"Oh! It's...it's myyyy... pet mouse!" Ash replied nervously while sweating.

Pikachu could also feel his furry body getting a chill while Mr. Hino's squinted eyes still glued to him. Pikachu felt that would be more likely to learn his identity and cause an uproar.

"Very well. Rei will like that you've brought a guest with you," Mr. Hino responded in a casual tone. Ash and Pikachu wiped their foreheads with relief.

So Trista began to walk past the shrine priest and lead Ash and Pikachu towards their destination.

"It was nice to see you again, Miss Meioh," Mr. Hino returned to sweeping the stoned ground when they were away from him. With Pikachu sitting on his shoulder, Ash couldn't help but look back at the elder with curiosity, since he had almost gotten his Pikachu discovered.

"Who was that guy back there?"

"That's Rei's grandpa. He is the priest of this shrine,' Trista answered.

As they continued down the long walkway, Ash and Pikachu studied their surroundings and noticed multiple cherry blossom trees. They were to the left of the Hikawa Shrine itself. Both trainer and Pokemon were attracted by their bright color and delicate appearance.

With each footstep, Ash kept his curious amber eyes on the cherry blossoms. Dangling from the tree branches, they seemed so innocent; so young since they had barely sprouted. Ash didn't mind letting a smile grow on his face, and neither did Pikachu; to them these trees were amazing.

Finally Ash took his sight off of the cherry blossoms and turned his face towards Trista.

"Back home we don't have trees like these. What are they called?"

"Pika Pi," agreed Pikachu in a delighted tone.

"They're called cherry blossoms. They're tree flowers that bloom only in spring," Trista explained.

Just before he had arrived, Ash used to think that this Pokemon-free world was strange and odd, but discovering one of its natural beauties began to interest him.

"Serena can be such a pain sometimes," Rini made this statement with her arms crossed and eyes closed. At that instant Serena couldn't hold her frustration back anymore.

"Why you little-!" It was the voice of this hot-headed blond that could be heard from outside. Trista, Ash, and Pikachu were alerted at its sound, becoming concerned. "You can't just tell me when to be quiet!" Serena deliberately reached over the table for Rini and attempted to grab her. Soon Trista learned what her and the others would be in for once she opened the door.

While Ash wasn't looking at her, Trista exhaled a sigh, and thought on what she had told Ash before; that he would learn about their leader for himself.

Scarily yet without hesitance, Trista slid open Rei's door, and witnessed Serena holding a pair of little arms, while Rini appeared to be tugging at Serena's dangling pigtails. Everyone's eyes widened when Trista, Ash, and Pikachu entered the room.

'Huh?' Now Ash and Pikachu, with sweat drops on their heads, had finally seen the Sailor Scout's leader for themselves. Ash wondered to himself why exactly he was seeing this type of scene, and also why Trista chose not to share it with him.

In utter embarrassment, everyone except for Ash and Pikachu bent their heads down.

"We're really sorry," Serena and Rini spoke in unison, returned to their seats, then bowed down in forgiveness.

Moments later, everyone regrouped around Rei's table except for Trista and the Moon Cats, who sat on her mattress. To avoid trouble, Serena sat by Mina, and Rini stayed close to Rei. Rather than feel disturbed by their little quarrel, Ash brushed it off his mind started talking to Ami.

"You'll have to excuse our friends for their little fight," Ami gave the trainer and his Pikachu assurance.

"No worries," replied Ash.

"My names Ash, and this is Pikachu. What's your name?"

"Well isn't he cute?" Ami reacted sweetly at Pikachu and ignored the question.

"Aw, he's so adorable!" exclaimed Rini.

"Ohh, I'm sorry," Ami caught herself avoiding Ash's question. "I'm Ami, and this is Rei, Serena, Mina, and Rini," the teenage genius introduced each friend with a show of her hands.

"And we are Luna and Artemis," Luna's words followed after Ami's.

Ash slowly turned his head around and looked at the female cat with disbelief. He knew that they weren't ordinary house cats the moment he noticed Luna and Artemis's crescent moon marks on their foreheads.

"You can talk too?"

"Huh?" Everyone but Trista grew confused by that question. It was as if Ash were assuming there were another creature in the room that could speak.

"Pikachu knows how to talk too!" In Pikachu's mind, the cute rodent wished his trainer didn't mention his speaking ability. It was fearful enough that Mr. Hino almost figured out its secret and made a piercing stare. So what if these were people who they'd help fight crime; there was still pressure that whacked Pikachu in the face.

"It's alright Pikachu. You can trust these people," Ash noticed the nervous look in his best friend's eyes. Ash was always there for his Pokemon, even when it came to simple times like this; Pikachu was only scarred from his short encounter with Mr. Hino.

His dark colored attire and cheek marks were something that the inner sailors had never seen before. Unaware of Ash's hometown, this created more wonder; especially for Mina, who was the most flirtatious and outgoing.

The cheery blond turned her eyes towards Pikachu and studied his entire appearance. In her mind, she quickly noted that it resembled one of her bedroom stuffed animals. And just like her stuffed teddy bear, she could hold Pikachu with the same memories of sweet childhood in her mind.

"Just out of curiosity, where'd you get Pikachu from?"

"I met him while I was out starting my Pokemon Journey."

* * *

**End of Act I**

**SonicxReiHino: *screen fades in from black* Well, I hope someone enjoys this story. The idea was given to me by a creative person I know.**

**Batthan: Hey, someone's missing.**

**SonicxReiHino: There was a reason I didn't include Lita yet. I'm not exactly sure when, but I will add her later on in the story.**

**Batthan: Why? *becomes concerned* Did something happen to her?**

**SonicxReiHino: Well...*anime sweat drop***

**Batthan: *pulls out blue katanas* Lemme at those Pure Heart Snatchers!**

**SonicxReiHino: No, no, no! No one took her heart crystal. Look, it's just a minor situation. Wait for chapter two or three, ok?**

**Batthan: Oh, alright. *puts swords away* But remember, if you need me, just shout my name and I'll appear faster than you can say -**

**SonicxReiHino: Alright, alright, I get it. *anime sweat drop* *screen fades out to black***


	2. New Friendships and 'Shocking' Accidents

**Sailormoon _S_: The Golden Heart : Act II**

"Pokemon Journey?" Rini along with the others became enthusiastic about Ash's full-length adventures, and wanted to hear the details. With no one to notice, a tiny smile swept across Trista's face. Her plan of introducing Ash and Pikachu to her allies was going smooth and progressive.

'Lita would love to meet Ash...wait, that's right. She isn't here because..." Trista thought sadly while Ash was sharing his different Pokemon quests.

In order, he told of how he obtained many gym badges from several regions, and what it took to stand up against the largest corporation in his universe known as Team Rocket, along with Team Galactic and other combined villains.

"Do they have anymore on sale?" Mina changed the subject. After hearing this, Pikachu tilted his head to the left as a sweat drop appeared. Pikachu was an partner and dear friend to Ash; not some toy!

'Pikaa...'

"Uhhh...I didn't buy Pikachu from a store," Ash finished, giving a confused expression.

"Then where did you get him from?" Serena pleaded with her question. Soon Serena, Mina, and Rei all placed googly eyes on Pikachu. With his brown little innocent eyes and soft pudgy red cheeks, neither of the girls would throw away their chances of holding Pikachu. Everyone else sitting in the room worried that this discussion between Ash and the girls would get worse; Luna less surprised than the rest.

"Hey Ash, if it's alright with you, can I hold Pikachu?" Rei reached for Pikachu with her arms.

Ash wasn't sure if he wanted to deal with this Pokemon obsession. So for moments, he tried convincing himself that nothing drastic would erupt, so in his mind he accepted Rei's request.

"Here, you should let me hold him instead," suggested Mina, who abruptly snatched Pikachu before Rei had her chance. Everyone gasped when they saw this; watching Mina hold and embrace Pikachu as if he were a stuffed animal.

Being Mina's roommate, Artemis expected to see Serena behave this way before her. But that wasn't to say Mina was always a perfect little angel.

When Ash looked at her, Mina returned the glance with a eye wink, causing the young boy to blush.

Pikachu realized what was going to occur next, and it began to tremble in its small chubby legs.

"Hey Mina. There's something in you're hair," Serena pointed at her friend's thick locks.

"Really? Where?"

In a dumbfounded manner, Mina set down Pikachu and moved her hands towards her hair. Both Rei and Rini became disgusted at Serena's attempt to steal Pikachu. Luna felt embarrassed that this was the Moon Princess acting childish.

"I don't feel anything in here. Wait... you tricked me!" Mina fumed and became irritated.

'You think?' A sweat drop formed on Artemis's head.

"Well, I had to say SOMETHING to make you let go of Pikachu," Serena replied with a blunt tone.

Without hesitation, Mina became angry at that remark and extended her arms towards Pikachu.

"I had him first, Serena! Now give it back!"

"No way! I asked Ash for him way before either of you!" Rei jumped between her friends and grabbed a part of Pikachu.

Soon Rei, Mina, and Serena were yanking Pikachu from three different directions.

"Give me back my Pikachu!" Ash yelled in a half-mad manner.

"NOOO!" Pikachu's newest fan girls barked in unison. The monstrous expressions on their faces caused Ash to back away in fear towards the others. When it came to anger, Pikachu's new snatchers weren't much different from Misty and her hot-headed temper. Girls were just like an entire different species.

Ash, Ami, and Rini couldn't help but move away from the table, towards Trista and the Moon Cats. Ash had never dealt with anyone who acted so obsessive over his Pokemon, except for Team Rocket. This situation was just as complicated, and luckily kidnapping wouldn't be involved.

"Can you guys please give Pikachu back to Ash?" Ami begged with mercy.

Unfortunately, with the loud noise being created in the fight over Pikachu, Ami's voice was tuned out. The three-way battle for Pikachu was merely thickening.

"Just...let...go..of him!" Serena tugged harder at Pikachu's tail.

"Pikaa..." Pikachu became scared for its life as he felt like a fragile object. The minirature being could feel himself become elastic like a rubber band, and soon he would be torn apart like a teddy bear.

Finally no one else could take watching this petty argument continue. Luna could feel blood begin to rise in her animal stomach, along with her temper for Serena.

"We can't just sit back and watch this. Everyone! Take a position! This ends now." Serena's mentor always dealt with her usual attitude, but this event was totally uncalled for. Afterward, Serena would get a good talking to, and same for Mina from Artemis.

Trista grabbed both of Rei's hands, meanwhile Ami took a hold of Mina's arms, and Artemis climbed on her shoulder.

"Mina! Let go of Pikachu!" Artemis hollered into her ear.

"NOO!" Both frustrated with Artemis's voice and not getting Pikachu, Mina gritted her teeth.

Rini was pulling Serena's waist, and Ash tugged Pikachu's body with all his strength.

"Serena! Let go of Pikachu, NOW!" Luna yelled at Serena with her paws yanking the blond's wrists.

Not hearing a response, Luna ignored that idea and continued tugging. Then suddenly the black feline felt a huge source of energy. The moment Ash noticed Pikachu's red cheeks charge electricity, he bulged his eyes and grew afraid. He knew his best friend very well, but seeing the Pokemon decide to take violent measures was not ordinary.

"Pikachu, don't-!"

"Piiiiikaaaaaaachuuuuuuuuu!" Suddenly the lightning from Pikachu's face encased his pudgy body, then reached towards everyone and sent fierce jolts through their bodies.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" Everyone except for Pikachu let out a scream while the sound of an explosion emerged, alerting and other visitors from outside. The old man and two younger guests shot their heads up and quickly turned their eyes towards the Hino residence.

"What's going on in there?" Mr. Hino ran towards his home, and both young men following behind him. From the scene window came bundled amounts of smoke, Mr. Hino and the others rushed towards what was left of Rei's chambers; all of the ways had collapsed, and Rei's bedroom items were also damaged.

Along with the visitors, otherwise known as Darien and Chad, Mr. Hino's jaw dropped in utter shock. Everyone else except for Pikachu looked as though they were burnt, with frizzy hairdos.

"What is the meaning of this Rei? I think you owe me an explanation!"

"Well, look at the time. We should get going, Ash," Trista looked down at her watch while a sweat drop formed on her head.

So Pikachu hurried to leap towards his trainer's shoulder, and they both followed Trista away from the area. Thinking of a place to go wouldn't be difficult for Trista.

'Hopefully the girls don't let anything like this happen again. Now they see just how "dangerous" Pikachu can really be.' Another sigh escaped Trista's lips.

Being that she was responsible of allowing Pikachu to follow Ash, Trista was now obligated to explain the electric mouse's fighting abilities to her comrades.

Next, Ami, Rini, and the Moon Cats arose from their spots and headed away.

"Yes. We should get going too. Bye Mr. Hino," Ami spoke.

"H-hey! Wait for me you guys!" Mina called out, jogging after them. The minute they returned home, Mina would get criticized by Artemis, and there would be disagreements involved.

With most of her friends gone, Serena and Rei were the only two left, but soon Serena clutched her boyfriend's arm as an escape tactic.

"Why don't we start that date, Darien?" Darien could see through his girlfriend's nervous chuckle.

"Uhhh, sure, Serena. Well, it was good talking with you again, Chad!"

"Yeah, you too, Darien!" Chad waved farewell to his pal then turned around to look at Rei. This was the first time he'd seen Rei's grandpa in such a furious attitude, not to mention Rei getting into trouble.

Rather than complain at her, Chad noticed Mr. Hino stand still and speak calmly.

"Rei. Get washed up, then meet me in the living room." Even Rei was speechless by her grandpa. Still, it was better than getting screamed at.

"Yes, grandpa..." Rei responded with a low sigh.

Chad wondered whether or not he would be given a task. Hopefully later on, when Rei was free from any shrine work or fire reading, he would check for himself what the explosion from Pikachu was really about.

Suddenly after Rei had left their presences, Mr. Hino turned towards Chad and pointed at the temple entrance.

"Chad. Go and sweep the temple grounds." Obedient and hardworking as he was, Chad still felt confused at this request because his only job was to keep the inside of their home clean.

'Guess that's his way of telling me to let them have privacy.' Chad headed into the temple hallway and towards the pantry door.

* * *

"Hmm... I see." Now Mr. Hino had learned about the senseless fight over Pikachu, and the destruction it caused after being tugged by Serena, Rei, and Mina.

Chad couldn't help but eavesdrop on the situation while leaning his ear against the door.

"Well, I think I've come up with an excellent punishment for you." Rei's grandpa scared her with these bold words. He wasn't known to be merciful when it came to being made upset. "Something that will benefit both me and this temple."

"What is it, grandpa?" Rei covered her worries when she asked this. The last words her grandpa spoke turned into an impossible riddle. Even Chad, on the other side of the wooden door became afraid of what Mr. Hino would say.

* * *

"Really? What made your grandpa decide that for a punishment?" The voice speaking through the communicator sounded extremely surprised. It was Artemis, who held Mina's scout communicator in his palm. The white cat was laying on the bed, while Mina was busy working away on her brand new sewing machine. Every 5 seconds, a sound of thread entering fabric through a large needle was heard. Couldn't she be more sympathetic about Rei's new crisis?

"So how long does he expect you to work there?"

"Until I have enough money to fix my room. But whenever I get a break, I'll get in touch with one of you guys," Rei assured her feline mentor. "As you can see, the damage Pikachu brought didn't destroy our entire house, but only my room. So instead of using our family's wealth to refurnish my room, my grandpa wants me to handle the situation." The Hikawa Priestess was aware of what lessons her grandpa wanted her to learn, but she didn't see any reasons to avoid opening their cash vault. It was just as beneficial as emergency money; at least that's what Rei thought.

But aside from that, she realized how much of a brat she acted in front of everyone. With the arrival of their new allies, Trista expected her and the other girls to be mature and welcoming. Instead, they acted rash over Pikachu and gave Ash the wrong insight about themselves.

"I know you and Luna are probably disappointed in me..." on Mina's watch screen, Artemis could see Rei's depressed expression.

"No, don't take it all unto yourself. Mina and Serena are just as responsible. In the meantime, just focus on collecting the money to refurnish your room. And as for us, we have Ash and Pikachu to help us now." Those words of encouragement were enough to brighten Rei's face with a smile.

"You're right, Artemis," the raven-haired girl saw Artemis smiling back at her. "And thanks for calling. But before I go, I wanna talk to Mina."

Turning his sapphire-blue eyes to Mina, Artemis replied, "Sure, let me get her for you."

With Mina's watch, Artemis cat walked towards her. Even when he reached Mina's desk and sat by her chair, the silent blond kept her back turned.

"Hey Mina. Rei wants to talk to you." For seconds, Artemis was ignored. The sound of Mina's machine couldn't have been too loud. "Earth to Mina. Did you hear what I said just now?"

"Yes I did, Artemis. Hand me the watch." By the flat tone in her voice, Artemis became worried. "Hi Rei! What's up?" Mina formed a false smile.

After hearing Artemis call for Mina twice, Rei definitely suspected something from her.

"Well, I just wanted to apologize about the fight over Pikachu. We were all acting childish. And now I -" Rei's words were cut short.

"I totally agree with you, Rei! But right now I'm a little busy." Mia's response was only causing Artemis to grow concerned like Rei.

"Doing what?" Rei asked Mina.

At that instant, Rei realized that she was the only one who learned anything from fighting over Pikachu; until she checked on Serena at least. Mina wouldn't be acting unlike herself if she'd learn from their mistake.

"Ohh, just a little idea I came up with," Mina answered in a happy tone. "Well, talk to you later, Rei!" she turned off her communicator before Rei could even push out the response from her mouth.

Sitting on the steps of her temple, Rei looked down at her watch. Getting a job at the Crown Fruit Parlor was enough to make the priestess see her actions, meanwhile Mina was acting unusual. Whatever the case, Mina's little project would be spilled.

'It's not like Mina to act so preppy... and knowing Serena, she's probably driving Darien crazy with the situation!'

* * *

Trista decided to take her friends through the park, since it was a nice and peaceful area; and it was a shortcut to their ultimate destination.

While taking their footsteps, Trista looked at Ash and noticed a sad look on his face.

"Ash, what's wrong?"

"It just doesn't feel the same. Usually Pikachu's on my shoulder," replied the Pokemon Trainer. Pikachu was in Ash's arms like an infant, wrapped entirely in a tan cloth blanket.

"Don't worry. You'll only have to hide Pikachu when we're outside. Once we reach Lita's apartment, you can uncover him," Trista assured Ash.

From the opposite side of their stoned path, an old woman dressed in denim jeans and beige t-shirt noticed the two friends with the bundle inside their blanket. Ash worried that this would be another episode similar to Mr. Hino's suspicions.

"Ohh, you two should really give your child some air. It's springtime"

Ash and Trista quickly exchanged confused glances. The idea of sharing a child had never occurred to them.

"What? This isn't our baby!" Ash's face glowed crimson while Trista's cheeks flushed a rose-pink.

"Now, now let me see the dear child. It will only be for a minute or two." The old woman took a few more steps towards Ash and Pikachu.

With nothing else to use, Trista looked down at her garnet wristwatch.

"Hmm. We should really get going, or we'll be late."

"Yep," Ash agreed with a nervous chuckle.

"Well, it was nice meeting you." Both Ash and Trista began to power walk away from the elder. It left her shocked to see that they moved away from her in such a hurry.

"Hmph!" When she searched around with her eyes and noticed two security guards on bikes, the old woman yelled for their attention. "Help! Help! Those teenagers have kidnapped a baby!" The aged female pointed at Trista and Ash.

'Pika pika?' Pikachu was confused by that false cry for help.

"Huh?" Ash also heard those words, and turned around to see two guards biking towards them.

"She's trying to frame us. Hurry and run!" Trista ordered the young boy. Even in her heels, Trista was able to keep a passable speed.

"Hey!" called one of the security guards, as they chased after the proclaimed kidnappers.

Along the park sidewalk, other civilians watched the drastic chase move on. The more they ran away from them, the more afraid Ash became.

"When we reach the sidewalk, split up," Trista told him and Pikachu.

"Wait! But what about you?" Ash gulped fearfully.

"Don't worry about me. Just try to lose them."

Sooner then the trainer expected, him and Trista reached the sidewalk, and he took the left street, while Trista progressed forward. When she separated from Ash, Trista pulled out her communicator and turned it on.

"Amara, are you driving right now?"

* * *

It was strange enough for Ash that this universe didn't have any Pokemon. But having to hide Pikachu was even weirder.

With each footstep he took, Ash's route was still unplanned.

"Get back here, kid!" called the security guard. Those tough words only made Ash move his feet quicker, and continue to hold Pikachu closer to his chest.

When Ash made his way past the crosswalk, he ran past a tall building and noticed a alley. With the security guard still after him, Ash took a risk and headed towards the narrow opening.

"The alley isn't going to save you."

Before Ash entered the alleyway, his chaser still saw him. But when the biker entered for himself, he raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"Where did that boy go?" the security guard pedaled past the dozen trash bags and giant waste canister, but still no sign of Ash. In the middle of the pathway was a ladder, but thanks to the security guard's absent mind, Ash was safe.

"Phew, that was a close one," said Ash, watching the security guard from up above.

Suddenly he realized that Pikachu was still wrapped up.

"Oh yeah. Pikachu, you can come out now." the Pokemon's owner took him out of the blanket and let him stand on the ground.

"Pikachu," Pikachu responded with relief.

"I wonder what we're supposed to do now, though." Ash still worried about what Trista had told him. Not able to define his location, Ash was lost and felt no choice but to try retracing his steps.

While putting Pikachu's blanket inside his backpack, a familiar voice ran through his ears.

"Hey Ash!" It was the voice of a female, sounding from the opposite edge of the building.

"Dawn!" Ash noticed his blue-haired friend wearing her usual pink, white, and black outfit,with her arms behind her back.

"Pika?" Pikachu became confused and wondered why his trainer acted responsive. The closer Ash stepped towards Dawn, the more sadness he could see in her pleasant face.

"Dawn, what are you doing here?"

* * *

**End of Act II**

**SonicxReiHino: *screen fades in from black* Soo, are you still worried about Lita?**

**Batthan: Well, now I know she's ok, but how come she isn't with the others? And when will the Heart Snatchers appear?**

**SonicxReiHino: Hopefully in chapter four you and others will find out. And, I planned on having things occur before they fight because Lita will become an important situation once Ash learns why she stayed home.**

**Batthan: Ohh, ok. So, how come Pikachu' doesn't seen Dawn when Ash does?**

**SonicxReiHino: In the next chapter, you'll get to see why. It has to do a lot with how Ash is feeling on the inside.**

**Batthan: Ohh. Ok. Well, I hope he meets up with Trista soon.**

**SonicxReiHino: Yeah, about that...**

**Batthan: What?**

**SonicxReiHino: Let's just say he won't act so happy when he sees her again...**

**Batthan: ...? *screen fades into black***


	3. Closed Hearts and Golden Memories

**Sailormoon _S_: The Golden Heart : Act III**

Pikachu grew worried for his trainer, wondering why Ash was talking to himself.

"I wanna know what you're doing here, Ash," replied Dawn. "Everyone back home is worried about you." The Pokemon Coordinator held out her hand in hopes that Ash would take it, but her entire body began to fade away.

Wait!" Ash quickly stretched out his arm towards Dawn's hand, but it was too late the instant their fingers met. "Why did she disappear... am I just seeing things?" Ash put his arm back down. He wanted to deny what he had just seen, but he couldn't brush it off his mind. Pikachu noticed few tears from Ash's cheeks landing towards the cement ground.

"Pika..." Pikachu tried to look into his best friend's eyes.

* * *

If Trista's willpower wasn't involved, then the pain from her heels and the security guard would have both overcame her.

"I almost have you now!" hollered the security guard, pedaling fast with his bike. "Turn around if you know what's good for you!"

Trista ignored this determined statement, then suddenly noticed her favorite coffee shop two blocks down the street; the one where her, Amara, and Michelle would go sometimes to chat and discuss their sailor scout strategies. It was similar to how the Inner Sailors spent their studying and sailor business at Rei's house.

Now the sides of her waist were aching just like her feet. And when nearby civilians noticed the chase between Trista and the security guard, they grew curious and worried. Some let out gasps when Trista almost knocked them down, followed by the the security guard who halfway ran them over. But he was on a mission; reckless of making sure civilians moved out of his way.

After Trista made her way across the first block, her chaser remained on her tail, but was suddenly blocked by two women. They rolled past in a scarlet convertible. The front wheel of the security guard's bike had came extremely close to the car, but in the nick of time he used his brakes.

"Woah!" For seconds, Trista's chaser thought he was done for. Quickly, he noticed that the driver of the convertible was making a right turn, alongside where Trista was running.

While keeping a steady pace, Trista shifted her eyes to the car and decided to increase her speed. The duo in the crimson ride also happened to be going to the cafe. After passing the final street, they found an empty parking space and slowly entered it.

Looking straight ahead, Trista noticed not only the female pair getting out of their car, but another individual had opened the cafe entrance; so she became more relieved with her unplanned escape. The minute she stepped inside and got into the ladies room, she would rip off her magenta pumps and relax her pained feet.

"You can't run forever!" Even with a safe place for Trista to go to, the security guard wasn't ready to give in. He WOULD nab the vile kidnapper.

Trista didn't bother to look back at the security guard now that she had passed the second block.

When she approached the cafe door, she slowed down before entering, and acted casual once she made it inside.

By the time the security biker entered the public facility, he didn't catch any signs of Trista. He checked each and every table, but no one carried jade hair and tan skin. Trista wouldn't be able to leave the bathroom if her chaser sat at the coffee stand, so that was just what he did.

Trista let out a sigh as she looked down at her unoccupied shoes. They were one of her favorites, but as of now she wished she had slipped on tennis shoes.

"How long do you think that guy will sit there?" Michelle asked Amara while resting her arms on the table. The sea green-haired woman and Amara had their eyes on the security guard ever since he stepped in.

"I'll tell Trista what's going on," Amara responded, turning on her scout communicator. "Hey, Trista. This guy's still sitting here. What do you want us to do?"

Michelle gave her attention to Amara's watch with Trista's face on it.

"I'll find a way out of here. In the meantime, go and find our new allies and take them to Lita's apartment. Their names are Ash and Pikachu."

"Hmm? You mean the ones that you discussed with us before?" Amara replied.

"Yes. They shouldn't be too far from where you are."

"Alright. Bye," Amara's screen on her communicator turned off. Her and Michelle worried about who exactly Trista claimed as their help against the Pure Heart Snatchers. Knowing Trista, it would have to be people who had performed heroic tasks before.

"Where do you think Trista rounded up those two from?" Michelle asked her partner.

"With their names, they couldn't be anyone who lives around herel. Come on. Let's hurry before they get too far away from us to find." Amara rose from the table, and Michelle gave a nod, following after her.

* * *

It would be one more day until Rei started her new job at the Crown Fruit Parlor. When the news became huge, Lizzie grew excited; to think that one of her friends would be working with her every so often. Although this seemed cool to her, Rei's other friends were still getting used to the idea, and especially Chad.

Speaking of Chad, Darien had already discussed the same topic with Serena about Rei's room exploding.

Lizzie was walking over to their table with an tangerine smoothie on her silver order tray. "Here's a mango smoothie for one of my good pals!" Lizzie smiled as she grabbed Serena's drink and handed it to her.

"I can't wait to see Rei tomorrow. She'll love working here!" Lizzie continued, then turned around and left the couple.

As excited as Andrew's sister was, Serena declined without a doubt. Rei fighting alongside her and the other scouts had progressed too long to just end at this point. Darien noticed his girlfriend resting her elbows on the table, forehead against her fists.

"Serena. Are you alright?"

"I thought I wanted a smoothie, but now I just feel terrible. It's all my fault that Rei has to work here, and now she can't fight with us anymore." Darien could see the point that Serena was making, but she was still giving herself too much blame. If Mr. Hino really wanted, he could have just opened their family's cash vault, but instead he acted brutal with his punishment.

"Here. You can have my smoothie." Serena pushed the contained drink across the table towards Darien. The older teen looked down at the untouched drink, then back into his girlfriend's eyes. They were so beautiful, like sapphire objects on a fine golden chain. Similar to how a jewelry owner would always make sure to polish his treasures, Darien would do his best to keep Serena happy.

"But you love mango smoothies," responded Darien. "Whatever the issue was, it'll be taken care of. Now, drink this smoothie for me so you won't be dehydrated while riding my bike."

Serena became happy when she heard that response. Things became more joyful when she noticed Darien pulling out his brown motorcycle gloves from his pocket.

"Really, Darien? You think I'm ready to drive now?" Serena reacted happily when her boyfriend handed her the gloves.

"Sure. We've been practicing for weeks now," Darien returned a smile, watching Serena equip his driving gloves.

"Now that you're familiar with driving, maybe we can visit Lita again."

"Yeah...right," replied Serena, returning to drinking her beverage.

After Lita's accident, Serena and the others avoided conversation about the brunette. After rushing her to the hospital, Lita's professional doctor explained to them the situation. Any memories of what occurred before the tragic event were erased. Not only that, but she had forgotten who exactly she was before.

Lita's friends were also told by the doctor that reminding her of her past memories was risky, and recovery was less than 50 percent. Two days after, Serena and her allies desperately wanted to visit Lita and jog her memory, but unfortunately Luna, with Artemis to agree, advised them that surely Lita would have to regain her true identity by herself; if it took till Serena became queen of Crystal Tokyo in the 30th century, that was a risk they would have no choice but to take.

Darien gave a comforting glance to his beloved, realizing he had completely forgotten Luna's orders and brought Serena pain.

"Serena... I didn't mean to hurt you with those words."

"It's fine, Darien..." After moving her mouth from her smoothie, Serena held the glass with both of her hands. Then she looked down and began thinking about her dear best friend, who now couldn't even remember their first days together in 8th grade.

'Even if it takes you years to remember who we are, Lita... I won't give up on you! I promise!'

* * *

It wasn't ladylike, and it wasn't proper, but escaping through the bathroom window was her only option. Once she landed on the concrete, Trista let out a sigh of relief, and she slipped on her shoes.

Suddenly a beep came from her watch, and she flipped it open to see Michelle's face.

"Trista, can you describe your friends to us? I don't think we're near finding them." How could Trista have forgotten to give their description?

"Ash has spiky black hair and brown marks on his cheeks. He's wearing a green backpack, and Pikachu is the small yellow creature with him. Pikachu has red dots on his face, and long black ears."

"Got it," Amara responded with her hands on the steering wheel.

Amara had driven 15 blocks away from the cafe, and called Ash's name at each sidewalk, causing her to become impatient.

"Ash! Ash, where are you?" The dirty blond let out a sigh.

"This would be easier if Trista gave exact directions. But then again, with the security on her tail, I guess not," spoke Michelle while staring at the empty sidewalks.

After Amara drove down another block, Michelle noticed Ash heading towards their direction. His face appeared to be blank, and the creature known as Pikachu was wrapped in its usual blanket.

'It still doesn't make any sense. Was I just dreaming about her?'

Dawn was still on Ash's mind, and had been the entire time he walked around. Pikachu never found the right words to comfort its trainer with, so Ash remained in a state where his mind was somewhere else.

"Amara! I think that's him." Michelle pointed at their new allies.

Amara diverted her eyes towards the boy and his mysterious wrapped object.

"Ash!"

"Huh? Who's calling my name?" Ash turned his head around to see a car moving towards them. It had to be someone who knew Trista; that was all Ash could figure. Pikachu eagerly wanted to see their new acquaintances, but covering his foreign appearance was still necessary.

As the car was coming to its stop, Amara could see that Ash was nervous.

"Don't worry. We don't bite."

"How do you know my name?" Ash questioned the tomboy.

"We're friends with Trista," Michelle spoke in a friendly tone. "She told us to look for you, and take you to Lita's apartment. That was when Ash put down his guard and created trust for Trista's two friends.

They informed him that Trista had already shared his and Pikachu's names with them.

Amara turned her key and started the car.

"So, what are your names?" Ash began the conversation at a respective level.

"I'm Michelle, and this is Amara. May I ask why you're carrying a baby and not Pikachu?"

"Oh, umm..." Ash blushed slightly and remembered the incident from the park. Michelle let out a small giggle at this nervous behavior.

"Actually, I've been keeping Pikachu wrapped in this blanket because Trista says it will save trouble." After saying this, Ash unraveled Pikachu from its blanket and decided to share the story of the fight over Pikachu.

"Oh. Well, don't worry. We're not like Buns and her friends," replied Amara, looking at Ash through her rear-view mirror.

"Buns?" Ash responded confusedly.

"Yeah, that's Serena's nickname that I made for her."

"So Ash, why don't you tell us about your abilities?" Michelle broke in with a new subject.

"Well, to be honest, its not me that does it. It's Pikachu, and my other 5 Pokemon. My only job is to train them and command them in battle."

"Your other 5?" Amara grew curious as she made a left turn with her steering wheel. Now they were only minutes away from Lita's apartment.

"Yeah. Unlike Pikachu, they're inside of Poke Balls," Ash explained, pulling out the spherical device from his pocket. At first it appeared to be small, then when he pressed its gray button in the center, its size increased. Both Amara and Michelle were greatly intrigued.

"Hmm. So they're capable of living inside of those?"

"Yeah. And believe me, I would show them to you, but I can't risk it when Pikachu's already out in the open."

"Oh, that's alright, Ash," Michelle looked back at him and smiled.

Seeing the trainer's cute Pikachu was enough.

"We'll have to show up on time and see your other Pokemon whenever you're in a battle."

"Right," Ash replied, returning his Poke ball to its original size, then placing it back inside his pocket. Suddenly he could feel the car begin to decrease its speed and come to a stop.

"Hey, Ash. This is where Lita lives," Amara informed him while parking her car beside the sidewalk curb.

The style and design of this 20-story building was yet another discovery to Ash and his Pikachu. In all the places they had traveled, he hadn't entered an apartment, but only single homes, hospitals, castles, and wooden cabins. The idea of multiple people sharing a home seemed unique, with the many glass windows and carpet floors.

Amara assured everyone that she would stay in the car, so Michelle opened the car door for Ash.

As Michelle led their acquaintances away, Amara took a good look at them, then went into deep thought. It never occurred to her that their new ally would be a young boy. Even with his "Pokemon", Amara wanted to see proof of Ash's strengths.

'Where exactly could he have came from? I hope Trista knows what she's doing. The Messiah of Silence is still to come.' Just like Michelle, Amara always reminded herself of this devastating event, because she felt like she had to; it was always her and Neptune's missions to collect the 3 Talismans so their world wouldn't come to an end. But since they realized the Heart Snatchers were also after the Tailsmans, Trista had convinced them into joining forces with the Inner Sailors.

And not only that, but this decision was sealed with a deal; Uranus and Neptune would fight by their side only because Trista told them she knew when the Talisman would appear. After that, Amara asked Trista from time to time for the exact date, but Trista said that it would be soon. Mostly Amara was not hesitant to back away from their deal, but Michelle told her to have more patience with Trista.

While Amara thought more about why Ash was chosen, her mind told her to look at the back seat, and near the seat belt lay something that caught her attention.

* * *

"So she lives in there with lots of other people?" Ash asked with an innocent tone.

"Yes, but not the way that you might think," Michelle answered. "In this complex is one room for each person, so Lita has an entire room to herself. It's like a house, but think of it as if it were connected to many others."

Michelle wondered if apartments were the only thing that Ash and Pikachu hadn't saw.

While they stood in the elevator and waited, Michelle took a better view at Ash's face. It was the marks on his cheeks that made her stare; features that she never saw on anyone's face but his. Her assumptions were that either they were developed after a fight, or they were nothing more but unique birthmarks.

"Huh?"

Ash could feel a familiar pair of soft and delicate hands cup his face. Not only were they giving his face warmth, but soon his nose caught hint of a sweet aroma; it was a scented lotion called "Deep Strawberry Kiss". Soon Ash's cheeks shown a light scarlet, and he could do nothing but look up into Michelle's mesmerizing oceanic eyes.

Pikachu looked up at Michelle and wondered why she had done such an intimate thing. Ash couldn't find the words to push out of his mouth, and Michelle continued studying the weird markings on his face. He wondered what Amara would do if she were to see this, and what made Michelle act it.

"What are these marks on your face? Did some bully walk up to you and scratch your face?"

Ash's cheeks returned to their regular shade, and Pikachu made a serious glace at Michelle. Just how much of a friend was she to Trista?

"N-n-n-n-n-no, n-no one b-b-beat me up," Ash stuttered during his sentence. The touch of Michelle's hands made him unable to move, and still Ash never removed his eyes from hers.

'Pika pikachu...' Pikachu frowned as he looked at Michelle.

Michelle continued to stare at the Pokemon Trainer's cheeks, then they became alerted when the elevator came to a stop and opened its door. That was when Michelle finally let go of Ash's face and turned around to lead him and Pikachu once more.

"Well, let's get going."

"Right..." Ash blushed again while Michelle wasn't looking.

He and Pikachu looked directly at their new friend while walking. Neither boy or Pokemon could figure out the point to what had just happened in the elevator; either that or they just were oblivious to girls. Anyone who knew Michelle understood that she was a caring individual. To think that someone would ask about his cheeks having scratches on them was distant from Ash's mind.

"So...I guess those marks on your face have been their your whole life then?" Michelle brought up this subject again, picking at Pikachu's nerves.

"Yeah," Ash finally regained his ability to speak and not feel awkward. "From what my mom told me, my dad also had the same marks on both of his cheeks," Ash added an explanation.

"Oh does he? So its just a family thing then."

Even after this response, Pikachu still worried that Michelle fancied Ash. Nothing had ever came between the mouse Pokemon and his trainer before; Pikachu didn't plan on letting anything split them up either. From this point forward, he didn't trust Michelle at all. And who was to say that the others wouldn't try anything? If only Brock were here in this world, he could have all of the beautiful Sailor Soldiers and keep them away from Pikachu's best friend.

"Ash!" A familiar voice came from down the hall as Michelle, Ash and Pikachu still headed for their destination.

The three friends turned around to see who was calling them.

"Here. You left this in my car," Amara handed Ash back his brown blanket.

"Oh, thanks."

In a surprised manner, Ash took his belonging from Amara and looked up at her. If the dirty blond hadn't noticed Ash's blanket, Pikachu would have to find another way of hiding from the outside world.

Amara decided to tag along and meet Lita, so she walked by Michelle, while Ash remained behind the close pair. This was his first time being touched in such a close manner; unable to make eye contact with Michelle and go without remembering her hands holding his face. Just the thought of that gentle touch made Ash's stomach tingle.

After passing 8 apartment doors, Amara and Michelle stopped in front of a door that read '206'. Thanks to this, Ash pushed thoughts about Michelle out of his mind and read the black painted digits on the door.

"So this is Lita's apartment?"

"Yep. I think we should let you have the honor of ringing the doorbell," Amara suggested.

"OK," Ash pressed the button with his index finger, and a high-pitched noise chimed.

The young boy was anxious and excited at the same time about meeting Lita. From Trista, he had learned that she was Sailor Jupiter, the soldier of Thunder and Strength.

Suddenly the door came open, and both Ash and Pikachu became surprised. Hearing about a person in a conversation was one thing, but now Ash had finally seen it for himself. Lita stood out from the other girls in many ways; her hair was chestnut brown, in a ponytail tied together by a rounded hair barrette, and her eyes were forest-green. She had on jean overalls covering a copper sleeve shirt, and azure house slippers.

By the calm body language she carried, Ash realized that Lita wasn't as high-spirited and girlish as Serena and Mina.

"Amara and Michelle! What are you guys doing here?" Lita grew curious about her unexpected visitors, not bothering to greet Ash or Pikachu.

"We wanna introduce you to this guy right here," Amara showed Ash and Pikachu with her arms.

When Lita shifted her eyes towards them, she gave a helpless stare. Not only because this visit had surprised her, but so did the appearances of Ash and Pikachu. Lita wished that she could explain Ash's fashion sense and the reason for a mouse being on his shoulder.

For seconds Ash stared back at Lita, but soon a voice broke the silence.

"He's going to be helping us with the Pure Heart Snatcher problem."

Lita's eyes widened and she became speechless at this statement. In his mind, Ash hoped that his arrival wouldn't be too surprising for her to handle.

"Pure Heart Snatcher? What are you talking about?"

At that instant, everyone including Pikachu grew confused at this response. Amara and Michelle desired that the worse hadn't been included with Lita's severe accident. Ash and Pikachu began to wonder just how much Trista knew Lita. She couldn't have possibly led them to the wrong girl.

"If this is some type of joke, then it's not a good one." Amara couldn't push Lita's words away; she couldn't control her feelings.

"What? I'm not joking!" Lita gave an innocent plead.

"I really don't know what you guys are talking about." Lita diverted her eyes to everyone in hopes that they would understand her reason.

"So I guess you've forgotten about your Sailor Team too," Amara's tone lowered; Michelle grew fearful of Lita's response.

"Sailor what?"

The pressure being put on Lita became worse by the minute. Ash became concerned and wanted to speak, but he was only the ally of the sailor scouts, and not a complete friend to Lita. Still, he wished there was something he could say to remedy the situation.

"Look you guys..." Lita continued the discussion before anyone spoke.

"I'm not so sure what you all mean about that Pure Heart mumbo-jumbo, or why you've brought this strange boy and his pet mouse. But I'm not who you think I am... I'm just an ordinary girl, like everybody else."

Lita felt secure after giving this detailed explanation, but it only shocked her visitors more than before.

"What was that you called me and my friend just now?"

Ash and Pikachu were both irritated by the rude comments they were given. They knew they weren't from this universe, but it wasn't like they were born in outer space either.

Ash was ready to bark more at Lita, who had noticed his reaction and frowned back, but Michelle jumped in between the two.

"Very well then. Amara, I think its getting late. We should take Ash and Pikachu to Trista's house." Ash, Lita, and Pikachu turned their attention towards Michelle when she said this.

"What? But it's only-" Ash's sentence was interrupted.

"Michelle's right. The sun just finished its set," Amara agreed with Michelle.

Ash looked at Amara and wondered what made her say this, then he turned his eyes back to Lita. He wouldn't let her get away with that remark about him and Pikachu, even if she were a girl. She didn't have any rights to falsely describe them.

* * *

So they decided to leave the apartment without giving anymore words to Lita. It was aware that her accident had caused her more memory loss than Amara and Michelle figured. While sitting in the back seat of Amara's car, Ash and Pikachu remained angered at Lita. Even the cold night air that brushed against his face couldn't cool them off.

"Can someone tell me what just happened back there?"

Without giving Ash a glance, Michelle thought out loud with a helpful statement.

"Not only has she forgotten her identity, but she now she doesn't remember her destiny as a Sailor Scout."

Right there Ash realized the reason for Lita's behavior. But it still wasn't picture clear to him. Him and Pikachu needed more answers.

Amara was well aware and began with a story. Ash and Pikachu listened intently while she drove them towards Trista's house.

"It all started when she asked me to be her motorcycle teacher. After watching a few of my motor cross races, she walked up to me and asked if I could teach her how to ride a motorcycle. I was reluctant to say yes at first because she doesn't even have a driver permit. But still I went ahead and gave her an OK."

Ash and Pikachu paid attention to every word that came from Amara's mouth, and Michelle remained silent while Amara was finishing her story.

"So hours turned into days, then days into weeks. By the time my next motor cross challenge came, she was there cheering me on like usual. After the race, she told me about a study group that she needed to hurry to, but asked if I could join her for a test race before she left. So I got on my motorcycle, while I let her use my spare one. Everything was going smooth until the front wheel on her bike started to get loose. That's when she began to lose control of the bike, then... she rammed headfirst into the tree, laying there unconscious."

After hearing this next set of details, Ash's thoughts about Lita changed. It was no wonder she acted rudely towards him; she wasn't even aware of herself.

"So why did the wheel pop off of your bike in the first place?"

Finally Amara took turns with Michelle and let her finish the story.

"Three days after the race, we figured out that one of Amara's haters got a hold of her spare bike and loosened one of its wheel screws. Their whole plan was to see Amara get hurt, but instead, Lita took the trap."

While looking down, Ash clenched his fist and wished he could avenge Lita. To think how much pain she endured and not knowing about the motorcycle's loose screw. If it weren't for that she would still remember her caring friends and heroic destiny.

"And they didn't bother showing their faces after that day," Amara gave the conclusion.

Finally Ash couldn't take thinking anymore about Lita's suffering; how she was unaware of everything and the least worried about it, and also since this was one of his allies that was supposed to be teaming up with them. The charcoal-haired male banged his fist into Amara's car seat while Pikachu had a depressive expression on his face. He also understood now why Lita had her certain behavior.

"If only Trista brought me here earlier, I would've been able to help stop that from happening."

"There wouldn't have been anything you could do," replied Amara while looking at Ash through her rear-view mirror.

"It had been a long time before Trista mentioned anything about recruiting an ally for our team." But Amara's words didn't stop Ash from what he wanted to say.

"There must be something we can do! We can't just leave her like this forever."

"Pika Pika!"

Michelle acknowledged how determined Ash and Pikachu were behaving for Lita's recovery even after being insulted. It was at that instant that she learned Trista had made the right choice in choosing their teammate.

Ash noticed a pair of sea-blue eyes in the front car mirror placed mainly on him.

"Ash... you're such a kind boy."

"Huh?" Ash froze and didn't quite catch what Michelle said, but before he could ask, Amara's voice stepped in.

"Well, here's the place," Amara parked her convertible in front of a two-story white and blue house. The house carried a balcony with two windows, more windows on each side of the first floor, and 3 stair steps leading towards the front door.

"We'll see each other again soon," Amara continued as Ash stood in front of the car before she drove off.

"And you guys..." Ash wanted to give a response before they left.

"Thanks for telling me what happened to Lita."

First he'd dealt with witnessing Dawn before his very eyes, and now he had learned a dramatic secret that Trista never bothered to share. How much more would Ash have to experience before the day ended?

"No problem. See you later Ash," Amara responded as she paced her car forward and waved goodbye along with Michelle.

After Ash and Pikachu gave their byes, Ash turned around and headed towards Trista's front door. So much was in his mind that he couldn't prepare an exact statement to give. Ash was feeling disappointment, worry, and confusion all at the same time.

As he knocked on the door, he wondered how Trista would reply since she wasn't able to join in after the park chase.

"Ash. I'm glad that you and Pikachu made it. I just finished dinner and I know you two must be really starved."

The entire time they walked in and Trista closed the door behind them, she didn't show any signs of concern. This only made Pikachu and Ash more appalled; to see that their friend didn't bother asking about Lita or how their day went.

Rather than act normal, Ash showed his emotions by how slow he ate his food. Pikachu remained calmer only because he hadn't dealt with the 'Dawn' situation like Ash. Still chowing down his Pokemon Food at a regular pace, Ash began to play with his food by cutting it into small pieces.

Soon after everyone finished their dinner and Trista washed the dishes, she returned into the living room and found Ash sitting on the couch with Pikachu beside him.

"This isn't like you, Ash. I thought you'd enjoy meeting Lita for the first time." Trista decided to seat in the empty couch spot next to him.

"Well, too bad she didn't enjoy it," Ash replied without giving even a small glance to Trista.

"What do you mean?"

"She claims to not be apart of the Sailor Team." Trista became stunned when she heard those words.

'That's impossible! How could those memories be erased...?'

While Trista remained in denial, Ash decided to continue without her response.

"Amara and Michelle told me about the motorcycle accident. I guess you were just too scared to tell me." That was when Trista snapped out of her thoughts.

"No. I also knew why Lita had lost her memories. But it never occurred to me or the others that she would forget her life as a Sailor Soldier," Trista sat back on her side and looked out into the distance while she thought about Lita.

Just like Serena, she held on with hope and failed to take Luna's advice. If Lita had managed to forget herself as a hero, then Trista couldn't even measure how severe her head injury might have been.

"Well, she did," Ash didn't bother to take Trista's side on this complication.

Then the young boy rose from the couch and walked towards Trista's kitchen. At this point he didn't care how she felt, because she had led him to someone who suffered from amnesia. Ash felt like him and Pikachu had been lied to.

"Ash, wait! I can explain," Trista pleaded as she also got up from her couch.

She let out a deep sigh and wished she had ran after him, but it was obvious that Ash needed to relax. Trista was sure that there had to be an explanation for something as powerful as Sailor Jupiter's memories to disappear.

Luckily for Trista, the young adult noticed Pikachu still on the couch. The furry creature decided that it didn't want to stay around its trainer while he was having a temper. It believed more of Trista's words than Ash had.

"Ohh, Pikachu," Trista returned to sitting down and rubbed Pikachu's back.

Comforting it after a long day was the least she could do for it.

"I'm glad you believe me. Lita's amnesia wasn't supposed to eliminate her Sailor Scout life. The same thing happened before they first got their powers, and then they remembered who they actually were."

From the dinner table Ash could hear Trista's voice.

"Pika Pi," Pikachu moaned in pleasure while Trista continued to rub his back. She didn't understand Pokemon language, but still saw that Pikachu agreed with her. So Trista smiled down at the adorable mouse and began to move her fingers towards the back of his ears. This seemed to delight Pikachu even more.

"Trista." Trista stopped rubbing Pikachu as she heard a voice and looked back.

Then Ash came from behind the couch and sat next her, surprising both Trista and Pikachu.

"I'm sorry for acting like a jerk to you. I thought you were hiding something from me and Pikachu, but I should have had more trust in you." With those words said, Trista felt that Ash was beating himself up more than he should. The understanding woman kept her garnet-ruby eyes on his.

"No, don't apologize. I shouldn't have taken Lita's amnesia for granted like I did. Luna and Artemis specifically told everyone to avoid bringing up sailor business to Lita, but I ignored their advice." Trista thought more into what she had just said and looked away in a depressive manner. It was times like this Ash became comforting and wouldn't stop until that person felt better.

"But you just wanted your friend back. I would do the same thing if one of my friends forgot about me." Ash left his eyes on Trista in hopes that she would return the look. And when she did, a smile had planted itself on her face. Just watching the whole thing made Pikachu more thankful for who his best friend and trainer was.

And speaking of friends, Dawn landed back inside of Ash's mind. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to explain the reasoning behind her appearance and vanishing.

'Everyone back home is worried about you'. When Ash thought back to those moments, his face started to transform into more empty, and Pikachu rushed to his side for comfort.

"Pika?"

Then Ash felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. Thanks to this, Dawn was thrown out of his mind again. Ash wasn't sure whether it was right or wrong that he stopped thinking about Dawn.

"Ash, what's wrong?"

In his mind, it was decided that Ash wouldn't let anyone in on Dawn until he figured out the situation for himself.

'They'll probably think I'm crazy if I tell them I saw Dawn,' Ash thought while all eyes were placed on him. Although, Trista's gentle hand never left his shoulder.

"I see it in your eyes. Please, tell me what's wrong."

"Pikachu." Seeing that Pikachu wouldn't hide its concern brought a smile to Ash's face. Could he really trust these two with what he had seen earlier?

To prove it to himself, he looked into Trista's eyes, but found only care and worry in them; same for his Pokemon. Then Ash began to figure that he couldn't sound too crazy since Pikachu was with him at the time of Dawn's appearance.

"Well, I'm not sure how to explain it, but..." Trista removed her hand from his shoulder since she saw he would explain himself. She and Pikachu became attentive to what he had to say.

* * *

With the bright crescent moon barely lifted in the sky, it was definitely bedtime. And with her new job tomorrow, Rei didn't want to lose even an ounce of sleep. She had already been given the Crown Fruit Parlor uniform with a free banana smoothie coupon. Was her grandpa trying to make this experience exciting or what?

Rei lounged in her warm bubble bath while thinking on all these things. She closed her eyes and laid her back against the tub wall, with both hands behind her head. The Hikawa priestess was enjoying this, but reminded herself that she wouldn't be able to for too long. Tomorrow would be a new chapter for her.

* * *

"Pika Pi Pika." By this response and head nodding, Ash knew that his story was thought of as false.

"You mean you didn't see Dawn at all, Pikachu?" Ash didn't think it would turn out this way for him. The next best thing he could assume was that he dreamed about Dawn.

"But I know I saw her... it's just the part where she disappeared that still confuses me." Trista saw that Ash probably felt betrayed by his partner. She took a chance and went along with his story.

"I think I know the problem to this."

Quickly Ash and Pikachu shot their heads up and looked at Trista. Whatever it was, Ash would give it some thought.

"It hasn't been long since you've entered our universe, but I'm sure you still miss your friends."

'It couldn't be that...'

Rather than meditate on this guess, Ash changed his mind and let his stubborn side do the talking.

"The day's not even over yet..." But Pikachu sided with Trista and wondered why Ash was acting calm.

"Well, just remember that you will return home soon, and you'll be able to see your friends again."

So Trista arose from the couch and motioned her friends to do the same. It was easy for her to see through Ash's stubborn wall, but the young woman decided to let Ash see his true emotions for himself. In due time it would come to him, and so when he finally returned he would feel more glad of reuniting with his friends.

"Tomorrow Serena's going to give you a tour of downtown, so you two should get some sleep."

"A tour?" At that, Ash became scared.

"Pikachu..." To think of how much hiding Pikachu would have to do now gave him goosebumps.

Coming back with a blanket and pillow for Ash, Trista noticed their absence of eagerness.

"I know it seems odd because of Pikachu having to hide again, but this tour will help you out greatly. You would have to know your way around in case a Heart Snatcher appeared," Trista continued this explanation, laying Ash's blanket and pillow on the couch for him. "Maybe this time you can put him in your backpack." Trista held onto the fact that Pikachu didn't want to return to its Poke Ball, so she tried to stay neutral. Ash didn't want to push any of Trista's buttons either, so he thought over her idea.

"Fine. That sounds good enough to me. Is that alright with you, Pikachu?"

"Pika." As long as he didn't have to practically suffocate in the blanket or be called an infant.

Finally Ash laid on the couch with Pikachu on the arm of the furniture piece. Lying on his back with both arms behind his head, Ash looked up at the ceiling and began thinking.

'Soon the Heart Snatchers will be wiped out, and then I can return home to finish my Pokemon Journey.'

With this said, Trista's same phrase hadn't yet moved from the Sinnoh League champion's heart.

'...and you'll be able to see your friends again.'

* * *

"Psst, Rei," a familiar whisper came from one of the doors in the hallway.

This individual seemed to notice that she had stepped from out of the bathroom.

"Psssssssssst, Rei! Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Rei took notice of who the voice was and started to look for it. Then finally she ended up outside with the person, sitting beside them on the shrine porch steps.

"Now, what is it Chad? You know I have to wake up bright and early tomorrow for my job," Rei declared in a clear tone.

"Yeah, about that. What was it like when they interviewed you earlier?"

Thanks to Mr. Hino's talk with Rei earlier, Chad only wanted to know about Rei's new job.

"Well, I think they should give me more breaks and less working hours, but I won't complain. And Lizzie seems SO excited that I'll be working there, because now she'll have someone to talk to."

Chad wasn't sure how Rei would describe his job, but it didn't alternate what he had to say. The bushy-haired man arose from the steps and stretched his arm upward in a confident manner.

"Well, while you were doing that, I came up with a brilliant plan!"

"A plan for what?" That response ended Chad's moment of accomplishment.

While acting victorious, the Hikawa Trainee had forgot to add his plan's purpose.

"I could ask my parents for money to fix your room, and that way you won't have to work."

If only this plan could succeed, then Rei would be fully obliged.

"I appreciate the offer, but you know my grandpa won't go for it. And besides..."

It was at this moment Chad became more drawn into Rei's explanation. He was eager as to why she declined his amazing offer.

"I feel better working alone anyway." Those were the only words needed to push Chad even lower; to a deeper level of uselessness that he had felt ever since he realized Mr. Hino was serious about her working. He didn't want to see her in a situation that HE knew could be fixed. Chad actually wished that Rei's grandpa acted less strict and gave Rei extra house chores or a night curfew. Or was Chad just being too much of a kiss-up towards Rei?

"There must be something I can do to help you."

"But that's the whole point, Chad. I know how you feel about assisting me, but it's not about you. It's about me getting the money to refurnish my room."

Most other girls wouldn't hesitate to take Chad's offer, but Rei remained headstrong.

Knowing that she would be away from the Sailor Scouts, she still proved that she wouldn't disobey her grandpa. And she didn't want to argue with him about borrowing money when he went out of his way to get her a job.

"It's just that you have a lot more on your plate now, and I don't want you to get stressed." Those were the only honest words Chad could find to say.

Throughout his stay at the Hikawa Temple, he had been more open about his feelings about different situations than Rei. But now he was acting like Rei's parent, and that belittled her.

"Stressed?"

Rei almost wanted to laugh at that statement, but then she would wake up her grandpa and dig an even deeper hole of trouble. Chad kept silent while Rei was still processing his words.

"I'm 15, not 3."

Chad was afraid that he had sparked Rei's temper, and so he kept quiet to wait for her next move with their conversation. Things became milder when Rei also rose from the porch steps and began to take steps around Chad.

"Let's just say that my grandpa DOES accept the money from your parents, and I don't have to work."

By now Rei had made a full circle around Chad, and he never failed to take his covered eyes off of hers without fully turning his body.

"What will you do then? Tell me to quit shrine work and stop going to school too?"

Rei literally neared her face to Chad's, causing him to back away and stumble backwards.

While on the ground, Chad gathered up mixed feelings of misunderstanding and rejection to form a response.

"No Rei, you're missing the entire point!" Rei let out a small gasp with worries that her grandpa would come running from his room, while Chad nervously covered his mouth with both hands.

After about 2 minutes, neither of them heard his voice. So now Rei was irritated with Chad and ready to conclude their little dispute.

"Well what is it then? I'm all ears." The raven-haired girl watched Chad rise from the ground and waited for his response.

"It's just that I..."

For him, describing his true feelings wasn't easy. He wasn't sure if he were ready to tell Rei even after all they had been through together. So he covered it all with a blunt tone.

"...Forget it. You probably won't understand even if I tell you."

Rei was taken aback by this remark and felt disregarded. What was so secretive about it that she couldn't comprehend?

"Chad, wait! Come back here!" Rei noticed him walking away from her and back into their Japanese-styled home.

Then she stopped herself from following and tried to think over what just happened. Throughout it all, she couldn't pinpoint what she had said or done to make him act this way. Was it just her being stubborn along with Ash? Thinking that she had everything under control and that others would think differently if she acted more truthful?

Seeing that their short argument was over, Rei let out a sigh and began to head for the guest room, which she could use until her entire room was remodeled. A day at work would remove this unnecessary disagreement; at least that's what Rei hoped for.

'Chad...' In her pink pajamas, Rei laid on her side under her bed blankets. That name stayed in her mind for the rest of the night.

'How did I ever fall in love with you?'

* * *

After about two hours, everyone eventually hit the sack and fell asleep, except for one girl.

'Yes! This is just how I want it to look."

Sitting on the foot of her bed, the girl was holding a lemony fabric glove that appeared to be sizable for a slender hand. By the girl's facial expression, she was enthusiastic about this creation.

"Ash, just you wait. After its all finished, you're going to definitely fall for me!'

* * *

**End of Act III**

**SonicxReiHino: *screen fades in from black* Soooo...now you know why Lita wasn't around, and about the Dawn situation. What are you're thoughts?**

**Batthan: Aww, I wish there was something I could do to help Lita. And boy, I wasn't sure why Ash saw Dawn and not Pikachu.**

**SonicxReiHino: Yeah. Something tells me that Ash and Trista have a good friend connection already. Not just because she can travel to recruit him. I guess I like them as friends.**

**Batthan: Yeah, but tell me, SonicxReiHino. Who's that girl with the yellow glove?**

**SonicxReiHino: You really wanna know so it can be spoiled for everyone? *giggles* Not a chance. Sorry, but you'll just have to wait until later on when I decide to add it.**

**Batthan: Awww, ok. But I'll be ready for it. *screen fades into black***


	4. Distant Cares and Shadowy Assumptions

**Sailormoon _S_: The Golden Heart : Act IV: Part I**

Before the moonlight finally traded places with the morning sun, a certain new employee was still searching through dozens of names. There was no males or females who caught her attention or seemed to stand out.

"There's so many names on this computer. Anyone could have a Pure Heart," Lola grumbled to herself.

The high-school graduate let out a sigh as she scrolled through the names. This wasn't her best time of the day, but she couldn't let it ruin her hopes of proving Eugeal wrong. So she put in more thinking by viewing each descriptive photo of every individual.

"Hmmm...how can I go about this? Process of elimination maybe, but still, I -" suddenly Lola felt a slender hand land on her shoulder, and she practically jumped while sitting in her chair.

"Huh?"

She turned her head around to look at the surprising visitor, to find that it was a mere acquaintance she had made after Tomoe employed her.

"Oh. It's just you, Kaolinite. You scared me," Lola remarked, looking into the woman's violet eyes.

Lola wasn't aware with the story behind Kaolinite, but shortly after her death, the same day as Serena's 15th birthday, Professor Tomoe discovered the tragedy and thought frantically of a way to revive her.

So after 2 days, the sinister genius was able to bring back his faithful assistant. Only now, she wore a ebony, flowing dress with long sleeves, tall charcoal heels, and silver earring hoops.

If that wasn't the only change, Kaolinite's only mission now was to watch over the Professor's daughter, Hotaru. As wiling as Kaolinite was, Tomoe didn't dare bother to rely on her for their main goal anymore.

"Oh, did I? I'm sorry," Kaolinite replied in an sincere tone.

Then the retired Death Buster shifted her eyes towards Lola's computer and watched her go through different identifications.

"The Professor wanted me check up on you, since this is your first day."

Kaolinite could tell that Lola was having difficulty with choosing a name. She remained silent for the next few moments until Lola made her mind up. But she just keep scrolling, and declining, searching, and disagreeing.

Finally Eugeal's cousin landed upon an image of a girl with sweet azure eyes and frizzy auburn hair. Lola wasn't hesitating to keep her quick pace with the left mouse-button.

"Wait! Don't click," Kaolinite spoke just in the nick of time. "What about this girl who we both see? You don't think she could be the one you're looking for?"

Lola decided to read the biography next to this girl's name. Deep down she felt better about Kaolinite making the decision for her. And besides that, she was still new to all of this; so how bad could getting a little help be?

"Molly Baker. 15 years old. Ninth grade."

Kaolinite tilted her face closer so that she could also pick up these details while Lola continued reading.

"Likes reading, shopping, and making friends. Doesn't hesitate to help those in need."

After they finished the short passage about Molly, Lola turned towards Kaolinite and parted her lips to speak.

"You're right. I think this'll work. Anyone like that definitely has a Pure Heart," Lola confirmed to Kaolinite confidently, turning her eyes back to the screen to stare at Molly.

As her first target, Lola wouldn't hold anything back. She had to make sure this operation went smoothly. And she had to illustrate that she really did have a hardworking sense about her; not only to the Professor, but to Eugeal too.

Lola felt like her cousin should just return to flipping hamburgers and forget her wishes in becoming a Death Buster. In other words, she always allowed her ego to do the talking, and now she would finally let it become bolder than ever before.

"Well, Molly Baker, you've been selected to be our first target! Hehehehe..."

* * *

**Around the afternoon**

After Trista had managed to talk Ash and Pikachu into getting a tour of Crossroads City, she discussed the plans with Serena for a second time and asked if she could pick him up from her house. The reason for this set of events was because days before, Trista had planned a meeting with Amara and Michelle at their favorite cafe. Ash was curious to see what Serena's thoughts were about Lita's amnesia, but Trista assured that it would be best to discard the topic.

And so Trista left for her small activity, leaving Ash and Pikachu so they could wait for Serena to pick them up.

* * *

The book in her hands was thick, with a scarlet leather covering, and the title was wrote in golden letters. This young girl kept her bookmark on the front page in case she wanted to pause her literature adventure.

While reading this book, she sat on the steps of Crossroads Junior High, still in her usual ivory and indigo uniform.

Ami was walking towards her direction with a suitcase in one hand, and Luna pacing beside her.

"And that's why I told you girls not to risk bringing that topic up around Lita." It appeared that the cerulean-haired girl and feline were talking about Ash's visit to Lita. Ami didn't disagree with any of Luna's remarks, but still she had thought back to an earlier plan.

"Yes. But I've been giving Lita's amnesia some thought..." Ami couldn't help but stop her feet and stand still. The words she wanted to say couldn't be pushed out without her courage. "I think the least we can do is befriend her. We can't let go of the fact that we still care about her." Ami tried with all her might not to let her eyes water. Luna understood completely what her friend was saying; she started blinking as if sand had entered her eyes.

"You're right Ami," the Moon Cat looked up at her friend and waited for her to return the glance. It gave Amy joy to see that Luna came to agree with her. Finally, she couldn't hold in the tears anymore. "But remember, we must not mention anything to her about the scouts."

"Got it," Ami nodded, wiping tears from her cheeks.

As soon as Ami and Luna returned to walking, they noticed one of their friends on the school stairs, reading what seemed to be a fictional novel.

"It's Molly. But school ended 20 minutes ago, so why is she still here?" Ami thought out loud while looking down at her wristwatch.

Catching sight of the title on Molly's book, Ami decided to take a different approach with Luna still beside her.

"That's an interesting book you have there. How many chapters have you read through?"

When Molly heard that voice, she shot her head up and was surprised.

"Oh."

Molly saw that she wouldn't have to give a greeting, so she moved along with Ami in their discussion. "I've finished five chapters already. The sixth one's really grabbin' my attention, but I dunno' if I'll be able to complete it today," Molly spoke in her usual New York accent. "I'm actually waitin' on Serena. Have you seen her?"

"No I haven't," Ami answered. "But why you are you waiting for her?"

"Because I let her copy my homework again, and this time she's takin' me out for pizza," Molly explained to Ami. Just the thought of Serena plotting her usual homework schemes made Molly frown her face. "That girl always has a way of gettin' out of stuff, that's for sure."

Neither Amy nor the silent Luna could deny this.

"Serena has her moments," Ami responded with assuring tone. It was almost everyday Ami was begged by Serena for her homework answers; and Luna was always there to witness it. "When I see her, I'll make sure to tell her that you were waiting for her, Molly."

"Thanks a lot, Ami," Molly gave a thankful smile.

"No problem," Ami returned the expression with a smile.

Seeing that Molly wasn't fully obliged to reading her book, Ami sat next to her with Luna in her lap, and the young bookworms began chatting.

"So, how is studying for your entrance exams going, Molly?"

"Hey Molly! I'm finally here!" a familiar high-pitched voice shortened the two-way conversation before Molly could respond.

"Took ya long enough!" Molly jumped up from the stairs and stepped towards her best friend. Ami and Luna remained silent in the background, seeing that Molly was now talking to Serena about their deal.

"Ami, and Luna! What are you guys doing here?" Serena couldn't help but turn her sight towards them, but neither Luna or Ami weren't so excited about saying hello when they saw Molly's frustrated expression.

"Don't tell me you forgot what you came here for, Serena..."

A long distance away from Serena and her friends were Mina and Artemis. Like Ami, Mina was also carrying her black book bag. Artemis walked beside her with an worry trapped in his face.

"Mina, what is it that you don't feel like talking about?"

"For the fifth time, Artemis, I'm not hiding anything. What's giving you that idea?" Mina wasn't sure how much longer she could deal with her feline mentor's interrogations.

Without any homework, Mina wanted only to spend her freedom without any drama; Artemis's nonstop concern being one of them.

With her sapphire eyes directly on Artemis, Mina stood still and waited for his response.

"You see, Mina. There's different reasons to why I think that," Artemis answered, stepping in front of her to pause their walk. Surely what he was saying wasn't difficult to grasp.

"One: you've haven't been getting to school on time," Artemis explained the first reason. It was like a dagger poked teasingly into Mina, and her mind couldn't remove it.

"And two: since when did sewing become one of your hobbies?" The sharpness in these words pained Mina even more. This statement pricked Artemis the most, since Mina hadn't spoke of buying a sewing machine with him. Artemis wasn't sure if their trust remained the during these complicated moments.

Rather than let her emotions speak, Mina felt better of letting Artemis finish.

"You've been acting too happy, and every time a friend calls you tell them you're busy. And most of all," Mina knew these next words would have the feeling; the sharpest knife ever to be stabbing at her side.

"You've been ignoring me, Mina. You know for a fact you and the others can come to me or Luna when you need advice. Whatever you're going through, you've made your option to ignore help that I might have for you." Artemis hoped that these words would simmer deep through Mina's brain. Although there were things that Mina wanted Artemis to acknowledge too.

While looking up at Mina, he grew afraid by her silence; she could reply back with anything. Her not talking soon led Artemis to realize she was fed up with him. But Artemis was a passive guy, so why was Mina acting so unlike herself?

"...Artemis, you know the things I'm going through, and you're acting like you've already fixed them. But you haven't even solved one!" Mina's yell was powerful enough to frighten Artemis, so he backed away with an sweat drop on his head. The male guardian knew what he was in for after hearing Mina bark so loudly.

"I'm glad Trista's introduced me to someone who I feel I can get along with. I'm thankful that Lita's accident didn't lead her into death." Artemis could see exactly where his underling was going with this, and it struck him in his cat heart figuratively; apparently he hadn't helped her with any of her recent situations.

"Yes, Ash doesn't have any feelings for me right now. And Lita still doesn't seem to remember who we are. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna come to you like the little baby I use to be. When I really need help, then I'll come to you and Luna. But now, I'm gonna follow what my heart says." After Mina finished this emotional speech, she walked past Artemis and left him alone.

"Mina, wait!" Artemis begged in a pleading tone.

Not getting a response, Artemis could do nothing more than watch the determined blond continue down the stone walkway. He wondered if Luna ever had to deal with these types of problems; Serena and Mina weren't too different when it came to decision-making.

'She actually thinks she can do this by herself?' Artemis wanted to push out a chuckle, but his heart was too shattered by Mina's cold rejection.

Now things seemed like the worst time to ignore Artemis's helpful nature when earlier before his advice had paid off.

Artemis placed a paw to his chin and pondered on this situation instead of chasing after Mina. There wasn't anything he could say to agree with her; the girl was simply blinded by her own mere fantasies.

'Just how does she think she can make that work?' Artemis thought hard about Mina's possible intentions; it wasn't easy remembering the words she shared with Serena on the phone yesterday. Then the bulb inside Artemis's mind brightened up and his eyes became huge.

"Wait! Yesterday, her and Serena were talking about going to a...no...she can't be serious about going to one of those, AND taking him! It has trouble written all over it," Artemis frowned at the last sentence he spoke. 'I've gotta keep a sharp eye on her and warn Luna!'

Artemis brushed away his thoughts and ran quickly after Mina. The snow-furred cat found her leaning against a wall, as she appeared to be eavesdropping on someone's conversation.

'What is she up to now?' Artemis let out a sigh while standing 7 feet away from her.

"A tour?" Molly asked in a curious tone. Apparently she was stumped by what she had just been explained to her. Meanwhile Ami and Luna remained quiet on the stair steps to hear Serena's plans. "Ohh, Serena. Does this mean we get to go shopping again?" Molly happily clasped her hands together while her eyes gleamed.

Strolling through malls was a hobby that her and Serena treasured doing as best friends.

"No, Molly," Serena smiled back weakly. "You see, I'm supposed to be giving this friend of mine a tour around town so he'll know where everything is."

Unfortunately, Molly disliked this excuse. She felt she had been deceived, as though Serena didn't want to be bothered with her. She let herself reply with the nearest thought that came to mind.

"Ohh, I get it. This friend of yours must be something more."

After hearing these foolish words, Ami and Luna's eyes bulged, and a deep blush of magenta appeared on Serena's cheeks.

"WHAT? No way, Molly!" Serena rapidly waved her arms in disapproval. "You've got it the wrong way! Besides, I wouldn't do that to Darien."

Molly let out a laugh while holding onto her sides. To think a girl would blush about someone who wasn't hers was humorous and strange at the same time.

"Well excuse me, Serena! I haven't even met the guy and already you're face looks like a tomato."

The pain wouldn't go away with her constant laughter.

Both Ami and Luna looked at Serena just to follow what Molly was saying, and Serena's redness began to slowly fade. Even Mina from her spot noticed this and became curious as to why Serena reacted the way she did. It was clear that Molly wasn't serious with her words. Serena twisted her face in anger at her friend for joking so rashly.

"Whaaat? I was just teasin', Serena. Take a chill pill. And furthermore, you should let me tag along since ya still owe me for the homework you copied."

"But Molly!" Serena pleaded with her buddy.

Suddenly a figure with coke-bottle glasses stepped into their conversation.

"What's this I hear about Serena giving her friend a tour?"

It was a person whom Serena and Molly greatly wished would just silence their self and walk away.

"Maybe your friend would like to check out the science observatory or surf the web at the library."

This apparent science-lover tried picturing himself with whoever Serena's awesome friend was; as they were at the different places he mentioned going to.

"Or maybe he could join our school and help promote the chess club!" Ami and Luna thought of it as sweet to try getting Ash into these several activities, but they knew how Serena and Molly would react.

"Put a sock in it, Melvin! Nobody said you could come!" Serena barked at him.

"Yeah, Melvin." Molly stood beside Serena and backed up her words. "Now why don't you run along and study for entrance exams or somethin'?"

"But I already did. And not only that, but the teachers let me take a pre-test," Melvin bragged innocently.

Serena and Molly exchanged glances as if they had never heard of a pre-test. Meanwhile Ami was impressed with Melvin's success.

Why hadn't she thought of asking if there were another way to prepare for their upcoming entrance exams?

Still, she couldn't beat up herself too bad because she still had her good brains and smarts.

"And I passed it with flying colors."

Melvin saw that Serena nor Molly hadn't formulated a come-back. They only stayed side by side with their arms crossed and irritated expressions on him.

"Okay, so you don't need to study."

Serena finally calmed herself down and sighed in verbal defeat along with Molly.

"But I never said this was a group thing!" Molly backed away from Serena as if she had been rejected.

'Well, guess she won't be needing us to tag along then,' Luna thought to herself with disappointment.

"Look, there's no point in bringing everyone along with me. All I'm doing is showing him around, so he can know where everything is."

After this was declared, Serena turned towards Molly and placed a hand on her right shoulder.

"Molly, you can come for the homework I copied, so that deal will be done. And that's it."

Ami figured her and Luna must've been too mute for Serena to notice. They figured that she'd at least ask if they wanted to accompany them.

Suddenly Artemis grew more worried as he watched Mina head towards the group in a sophisticated manner. Whatever this act would be, Artemis would add it to the mystery of her secret like a jigsaw puzzle.

'Uh oh...' the cat thought as a sweat drop formed on his head. Artemis watched as Mina put her hand on Serena's shoulder and caused her to jump a little.

"You didn't think you would just show our new friend around town and not let me help out, did you Serena?"

"Mina!" Serena turned around in surprise, Ami and Luna getting up from the steps to walk towards the group. Mainly Ami had heard from Rei about the day she called Mina and noticed her in an abnormal state. Even the young genius knew Mina never acted overly happy.

Realizing where Mina's exact locations had been, Serena became more straight-forward.

"Alright. Go ahead and tell me why you think you should come with us." Mina was glad that her friend brought this subject up. Molly grew interested in this and folded her arms patiently to listen.

"Well, vacation starts tomorrow so that gives us lots of time to study. Obviously Rei's at work, so I can't talk to her. And Ami's here with you, so it just makes sense."

Serena looked over at Ami with plead in her face. She was the only other individual who knew a lot about Mina. Same for Luna, but she couldn't quite talk right now for obvious reasons.

"Well, Mina," Ami started her sentence, with everyone looking towards her.

She thought to say "why is everyone looking at me?", but was able to ignore it.

"If you go along with them, will you go overboard with "you know what"? Now everybody's pupils were on Mina; Molly and Melvin confused. But the rest knew exactly what Ami meant, and Mina had nothing to cover it with but another one of her fake smiles.

"No, I won't go overboard with 'that'. Like I said before, I don't have anything better to do."

To make herself clear, Mina gave a small shrug with her smile still beaming.

"I don't know what to say, Lita."

Off in the distance, Mina and the others could hear a male voice speaking.

Whoever this individual was, Lita was walking beside him with her arms behind her head, and they appeared to be treading away from the school building. Then they stopped their feet and continued the short meeting.

"You've gone too far this time. Please, just tell me what's really going on so that we can get to the bottom of this."

Serena and her friends made sure to listen intently on this two-way discussion. Even from behind the brick wall, Artemis could hear this and perked his ears up.

"I told ya' I don't know why they keep coming at me. For all I know it could be cus' my uniform's green and theirs are all blue."

The school principal didn't take this comment from Lita lightly.

"Don't you have any friends or acquaintances you can hang with?"

"No."

Even as Lita thought back to Amara and Michelle, she let their sudden visit split her relations with them. Now they were nothing more than strangers.

"I don't have any friends."

Serena felt a pain stabbing at her heart when she heard this. But instead of running over there and embracing Lita, she decided to remain put and simply bottle up her feelings, along with Ami and Mina.

The school principal didn't want to waste anymore time with her constant fights and bullies, so he laid it down bluntly.

"Well, I'll say this, Lita Kino: If you don't find any positive people soon, and stop getting into fights with different enemies you may have, then we have no choice but to expel you from our school. Understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it."

Finally after the principal walked away, Lita put her arms down and watched him head off.

Along with being a sailor soldier, this wasn't exactly the life she had wanted either. Getting into confrontations back to back, having no one to befriend, and no one to help her overcome those problems.

Serena was unable to comprehend or not, Lita would get help from her. But not now, since Lita's amnesia had landed in between them.

Not caring if her friends were around, she let the tears roll down her face. Mina and Molly comforted Serena by giving her hugs.

"I'll go talk to her," the blond quickly wiped her cheeks while beginning to move her feet. Suddenly a hand grabbed a hold of hers.

"Wait, Serena." It was Ami who stopped the blond in her tracks, then the indigo-eyed girl let go of her hand.

"I'll go and check on her. You just worry about your plans."

Ami was definite in her words, since she had already spoke to Luna about her views on Lita's situation.

Serena and Mina knew that Ami held some compassion and sincerity about herself, so they trusted her to go. But Luna would tag along behind her and watch the entire sequence.

"Alright, Ami. And thanks," Serena hugged Ami while Mina and the others had tiny smiles on their faces.

Then Serena let her friend go and watched Luna walk beside her. No one spoke during these moments because even Molly and Melvin were aware of Lita's accident.

All eyes continued lying on Ami and Luna until Molly shared her thoughts.

"Poor Lita. If only she knew the people that cared were all standing right here," everyone looked down after Molly said this.

Although, Melvin still felt left out of this. He grew extremely worried when hearing about Lita's accident, but he didn't share a friendship with her like the girls had.

"Including me?"

When the braininess said this, sweat drops appeared on everyone heads but his, Molly letting out a sigh while looking at him.

"Whadda you think, Melvin?"

* * *

Just returning from the Crossroads Petting Zoo, Darien rode on his motorcycle with Rini sitting behind him. A day without her annoying future-mother was good enough for Rini. The sweet child and her future-father did multiple things while they were at the zoo; they watched monkeys play around with each other, Darien half-way trusted Rini about feeding the crocodiles, and they even got a chance to pet the tall peaceful giraffes. Rini mentioned that just the two of them would have to visit the friendly zoo animals more often, and Darien smiled at that.

"I had a lot of fun at the zoo today, Darien," stated Rini, as they entered his apartment living room. After enjoying fluffy cotton candy and yummy baked pretzels, Rini was stuffed and let herself fall onto Darien's sofa.

"Well, I'm glad you did, Rini. So you weren't too worried about sticking with Serena today, huh?" Darien asked, locking his front door then heading into his small kitchen.

"Nah. When I realized she was doing a favor for Trista, I knew I'd have you for myself," Rini spoke with honesty.

"Now Rini. You know that you and her are equal. I love spending time with both of you," a sweat drop appeared on Darien's head while he was opening his kitchen fridge.

Then the young adult returned with three glasses of ice cold lemonade occupying straws, and chocolate chip cookies on a single plate.

"Chocolate chip cookies?" Rini beamed with excitement as she saw the golden-brown treats being set in front of her.

"Now hold on a second," Darien stopped Rini before she thought about snatching a cookie.

Rini grew alarmed and wondered why she was being stopped from eating her favorite snack.

"You can have SOME, but don't get carried away, because you ate a lot of snacks at the zoo, and I'm expecting someone today." It was when Rini noticed the 3 servings of lemonade and not two.

"Really? Who is it?" the rose-haired girl asked while munching on her first dessert.

Before Darien could respond, the sound of his doorbell interrupted them.

"That must be him." Darien promptly headed for the door. Rini kept her eyes on Darien the entire time, then shifted them towards the door as it was opening. She couldn't mistake this individual for anyone else; with their long hair and usual priest outfit.

'Chad? Since when does he come over to visit Darien?'

"Hey, Chad. Glad you could make it. I just prepared some lemonade and cookies," Darien politely greeted his friend.

"Hey, Darien. And thanks. Lemonade DOES sound good right about now," Chad replied, as he followed Darien and sat beside Rini. "Hey, Rini. How are you?"

When Chad asked this question, Rini was still focused on his response to Darien; lemonade didn't sound so pleasant to her at the time being.

"I'm doing great. Darien and I just came back from the zoo."

"Is that so?" Chad smiled at Rini while reaching for a cookie. "Maybe you could tell me what it's like, because to be honest I've never been to a zoo."

Chad had never visited the zoo? In Rini's mind she asked herself, "what planet is he from?". Zoo animals were one of Rini's most favorite things to look at.

"You've never went to the zoo before? But why?"

Before heading towards the point, Darien allowed his friends to finish their conversation while sitting on the opposite couch.

Chad finished his cookie then took a gulp from his lemonade; drinking straws simply weren't his style.

"When I was younger, I didn't think it was all that interesting since my parents showered me with wealth. And now that I'm staying with Rei and her grandpa, I guess the idea still didn't catch my attention."

At this point, Rini could only conclude their talk.

"Well, whenever you get the opportunity, check it out."

"I will," Chad responded with a head nod.

He didn't hesitate to stop swallowing his well-stirred lemonade, and so when he set the cup back down again, all that remained inside was its untouched straw.

"So, Chad. What exactly did you wanna talk about?"

Darien didn't see a problem with Rini remaining in the room; she was just a child and probably wouldn't understand the dialogue between him and Chad.

Chad bit into his cookie before answering. Then he looked away sadly while holding his now crescent-shaped treat.

"It's about Rei." Strangely enough, this didn't surprise Darien or Rini.

"Oh, I see."

With Darien responding, Rini would have joined the conversation, but now it wasn't her place.

"What happened between you two?"

"Yesterday we got into this little fight," Chad began while taking another bite into his cookie.

Rini ate another cookie, then grabbed her lemonade and began sipping while awaiting the rest of Chad's story.

"I offered to pay for the damage done to her room, and she turned my deal down. Then I decided to be honest about my feelings, and yet she still treated me like I annoyed her."

Even Rini wasn't aware that Rei acted this way towards Chad.

From Darien's experience, Rei had been more open with him; not to say her personality changed. But they spent more time and did things together, not like now how Chad would only speak with Rei during her fire readings and sometimes during the afternoon. Rei never had anyone to call her boyfriend after Darien and Serena realized their future together; then Chad came into the picture and gave Rei a more defined perspective on men. It was always in her nature to avoid seeking their help, and since Chad came from a rich family, Rei became more suited with her opinion; for all she knew Chad could decide to try pleasing Rei through money and nothing else.

There was a second part to Rei's personal opinion: Unless the guy were cute, then she'd ask for assistance. That wasn't to call Chad unattractive, but truthfully her grandpa wouldn't have allowed his services anyway. In fact, the only reason Chad seemed mysterious was because his bangs always covered his face. But behind the young adult's hair were handsome navy-blue eyes; merely lacking his desire to trim his hair was what hid his true physical appearance.

"Normally, Rei isn't like that," Darien informed Chad. "So I guess now's the time you learn something about her."

Chad grew eager to hear Darien's exact words.

Whatever Rei's situation was, he would do his best to bare with it. And now thanks to Darien, he knew for sure the argument from last night wasn't all his fault.

"Rei has this sort of idea where she doesn't believe in depending on men. That's probably why she declined your offer."

Darien took this time to taste his batch of lemonade, and he grabbed the last chocolate chip cookie from the dining table. Rini wished there were still more, meanwhile it didn't bother Chad.

"Hmm..." This was the only response Chad felt he could make.

This detail about Rei still helped him out.

"Well, if that's the case, then how am I supposed to let her know how I feel?"

Rini definitely knew how to answer this question. But instead she chose to wait and see what her dad would say.

Before responding, Darien placed his hand on his chin and gave this issue some thought. There had to at least one idea he could give Chad. Suddenly words that his girlfriend shared with him the day before dropped into his mind bank.

"Chad! I think I know what you could do to settle things with Rei."

To Darien's surprise, he found a pair of hands grasping both of his. An sweat drop appeared on both his and Rini's heads.

'Talk about in need of help,' Rini thought to herself.

"Tell me, Darien! Whatever it is, I'll do it!" Chad begged earnestly as he was letting go of Darien's hands.

"Well," Darien began, letting out a nervous sigh.

"Meet me here tomorrow around four thirty, with a costume."

"A costume?"

Chad wondered how this small of a task could help solve his huge dilemma with Rei. Even Rini became suspicious of Darien's words.

"But based on what?"

"Just whatever you think Rei will like."

* * *

After picking up Ash and Pikachu from Trista's house, Molly was able to become more acquainted with 'Serena's friend'.

Meanwhile Serena felt regret for letting Mina tag along with them, because every so often Mina asked Ash personal question after question; such as "how old are you?" and "what types of friends do you have?". Molly remained quiet only because Ash was able to deal with Mina's flirty behavior.

While they had all been walking, with Pikachu remaining in Ash's backpack, Ash was introduced to many different places in Crossroads downtown. They had checked out Serena's school, the mall, where food restaurants were located, places to catch the latest movies at, and even the Crown Fruit Parlor.

"Are you sure you guys don't wanna stay and have a drink?" Rei asked them, in her work uniform that consisted of a tangerine apron and short auburn dress.

"Maybe we'll come back after we've shown Ash everything," Serena replied.

"Well, OK..." Rei made a sigh after her friends turned around and left from the Parlor entrance.

She hated not being able to hang out with her friends. Making refreshing fruit smoothies took too much of her time, the worst part being that she hadn't even asked for it.

In her mind, Rei wished that she could just walk up to her grandpa and say, "Grandpa, I think I've learned my lesson about fighting over Pikachu."

While wiping down the empty tables, Lizzie noticed the depressive expression on her face and grew concerned.

"Hey Rei. What's with the long face?"

"Oh, it's nothing, really," Rei assured Lizzie with a false smile. "I just didn't get enough sleep last night."

This statement was true, but Rei wasn't exactly proud of using it as an excuse. What HAD occurred the night before bothered her almost the whole day.

"Well, you get to have break in about 3 minutes. Then you call up Serena and check on her."

Yes, calling one of her friends would cheer Rei up.

Past their small fights and disagreements, Serena and Rei managed to be very close friends.

So without hesitation, Rei decided to take a step outside and take out her scarlet wristwatch.

Before pressing its rose-colored button, a mysterious voice grabbed her attention.

"Excuse me, miss."

It was a man who was ashen all over, from his skin, hair that reflected off the sun and reached past his back, long-sleeved shirt, pants, to his formal shoes. Around his neck he bore a silver chain with some sort of ornament tied to it, but the man felt better keeping it hidden under his shirt.

"Do you know where the nearest shopping mall in this city is?"

As Rei got a chance to notice this man's facial features, she was drawn to his handsome darkish-blue eyes. Not to mention the fact that his body was muscularly-built.

"Oh..um..t-there's one right down this street. A-about ten blocks I think," Rei pointed with her index finger.

"Umm, well thank you," the mysterious man replied, quickly turning to continue down the street.

Rei couldn't help but leave her eyes on the unknown character. But suddenly a familiar hand landed on her shoulder.

"Rei, did you make that call yet?"

"Huh?" Rei turned around with still a blushed complexion.

It seemed that her mind had traveled to a far away place; most likely somewhere with that mysterious man.

"Uhhhh...well, I just came to check because you're break ended about a minute ago," Lizzie explained to Rei worriedly.

The brunette kept her view on Rei and waited for a response. Few seconds passed between them, then Rei finally regained control of her mind. She instantly remembered; something about having to call a person she knew. But who could it be?

"Wait! It did? Oh, no! I forgot to call Serena!" Rei cried, noticing that she was still holding her scout communicator.

Lizzie turned around and looked at Fruit Parlor's counter top to find more customers.

"Come on, Rei. We have more customers who want their drinks!" Lizzie declared happily, dragging Rei back into the smoothie shop.

Lizzie loved what she did as a job; but why did she have to be so enthusiastic over it? Rei hadn't volunteered for it.

"Wait... but I never got to call Serena...!" Rei fought for freedom by holding onto the entrance doorknob. 'And that guy...who was he?'

This thought was also trapped in Rei's mind.

It was just more than the mysterious guy's attractive face, but his sense about himself was unusual, and Rei was able to feel that positive aura while staring at him.

"Well, you'll just have to wait for 2 more hours," Lizzie responded to Rei's pleading.

'Two hours?' The Hikawa Priestess wasn't sure how much more she could take of this new lifestyle.

While Lizzie managed to remove Rei's grip from the door, the raven-haired girl's expression became afraid.

"You're joking, right?"

* * *

"So, your name's Ash, huh? Well, that's a nice name," Molly spoke to Ash in a friendly tone.

After exploring more than half of downtown, with Serena leading the way, the group had strolled past an Italian restaurant, then were about to make their way past another street corner.

While in his trainer's backpack, Pikachu managed to poke out his face a few times and look at the buildings around them. The Pokemon smiled to himself with gratefulness; it seemed the tiny creature felt thankful for Trista's backpack idea after all.

Across the street from them was a man sitting on a bench, with a newspaper in front of his face.

'I can't let that happen again...' the mysterious man thought back to Rei; her cheeks so full of hue,while her eyes were filled with awe.

'I can't be that appealing to the point where she's blushing! It makes me feel awkward just thinking about it.' It was as if the he hadn't wanted Rei to act the way she had, any girl in that case. Little did Rei know just the character she had blushed over.

'I wonder if this has anything to do with -" the sound of a passing car motor stopped his thoughts, and caused him to set down his newspaper and look up.

It was four friends pacing down the street. Suddenly his eyes widened and a sweat drop appeared on his head when he noticed the only joyful blond.

Mina's smile never slipped away from her face, and it left Ash clueless on what to say. He looked confused and wondered what gave Mina so much glee; and Molly could see that. She wasn't completely aware up until now about Mina's behavior towards him, so Molly decided to secretly end the moment.

"I don't mean to ruin this, but this tour is gettin' kinda borin'. Why don't we go to the arcade or fruit parlor at least, Serena?"

"That's a great idea, Molly!"

"Huh?" Molly and Serena spoke in unison.

"Come on. There's a video game that I know you'll just love." Mina deliberately clutched Ash's wrist and pulled him, dashing with him to the Crown Game Arcade.

"Mina!" Serena yelled out to her friend.

While still in Ash's bag, Pikachu could still feel the pressure of being tugged away; he disliked this a lot.

'Pikachu!'

"Wait! What about Serena and Molly?" Ash asked worriedly.

"Don't worry about them. They'll find something to do," Mina assured him.

Just the idea of another girl grabbing a hold of Ash irritated Pikachu, more than Michelle's actions had. If only it had been Trista to give them a tour; that was a beautiful girl Pikachu held trust for; at least for now that is. Before Pikachu could give this situation more thought, he felt the movement become faster.

"Wooooaaaah! Could you slow down a little bit, Mina?" asked Ash, holding onto his hat in case it slip off. "My hat's starting to slip off."

"Pika Pikachu Pi..." Pikachu sighed in a stressed tone.

Serena and Molly watched the entire scene between Mina and Ash. It had left them speechless; Serena with less surprise.

"Well, there's really nothing we can say now."

"What do you mean by that, Molly?" Serena asked.

Obvious to Mina's intentions, she never expected the flirtatious girl to perform something like this.

"She used you. She just pretended to tag along until she could think of a plan like this." After Molly explained this, she realized just how much blame could be given to her.

"This was all my fault. Maybe we should've just stuck to gettin' pizza."

While Molly was placing guilt on herself, Serena looked down the street Mina had taken Ash through. She began to notice just what Ami shared with her while they were walking to school.

* * *

**Flashback**

"Have a good day at school, Serena!" Mrs. Tsukino was standing on the front door while saying goodbye to her daughter and Ami.

"Bye, Mom!" Serena returned a goodbye to her mother, along with Ami giving a wave.

Minutes after the girls headed away from the Tsukino household, Ami parted her lips to speak.

"Serena, there's something I wanna talk to you about."

"Sure, Ami. What's up?"

"Last night I talked to Rei on the phone, and she thinks there's something Mina's hiding from us."

With concern, Serena raised her eyebrows and continued looking at Ami. It wasn't like Mina to keep secrets.

"Hiding something? Like what?"

"She said she wasn't sure, but it can't be anything good. She said while she talking to Artemis, there were these sounds she heard, almost like someone had a sewing machine."

Serena tried piecing together each detail that Ami gave, but at the end it all sounded bizarre.

"So does Rei think Mina was using a sewing machine?"

At this question, Ami remained unresponsive, as she tried to solve this mystery even in her own mind.

"Get outta here!" Serena continued on. "Mina sewing clothes?"

"But that wasn't all Rei told me," Ami stopped Serena's ongoing rant.

Sensing her calm tone, Serena decided to quiet down and remain attentive.

"When Rei started to talk, she said Mina acted extremely happy and that she was too busy working on a 'little project;."

"Little project?"

* * *

**End of flashback**

"Earth to Serena!"

"Oh! My bad, Molly," Serena snapped out of her trance. Thinking back to Ami's words made her feel stupid for letting Mina tag along. Mina had never went this far with getting what she wanted, so what was her excuse?

"But hey," Serena began to say, placing a hand on Molly's shoulder. "Don't worry about Mina. She'll be fine."

These encouraging words helped Molly to not attack herself, but she remained silent.

"I mean, Ash isn't here anymore...sooo what do you think I'm trying to say?"

Instead of pondering, Molly figured she knew what her best friend was aiming for.

"That we can go shopping?" Molly formed a hopeful expression on her face. She'd would definitely let this idea make up for their deal.

"You know it!" Serena replied with excitement.

"Ohh, Serena!" Molly wrapped her arms around Serena and hugged her tightly. "You're the best friend a girl could ever ask for!"

"Come on, Molly." Serena hugged her friend back, then let go and began towards the corner block. "So, we'll check out the mall first, then to my favorite bakery shop!"

Moments after the duo began their walk, a woman with crimson hair instantly appeared after they passed the street. Seeing Serena and Molly head towards their chosen destination seemed to please her; a dark smirk across her face to prove it.

'Kaolinite!' The mysterious man diverted his eyes to her as he rose from the bench. What was she doing alive and well?

'Just as Lola planned. That girl's destined to fall in her trap.' Shortly afterward, Kaolinite vanished out of the area.

* * *

**End of Act IV: Part I**

**SonicxReiHino: *screen fades in from black* It was so much fun writing this chapter. I mean, its fun even from the beginning, but this one I feel makes a lot of questions.**

**Batthan:Yeah. That mystery guy catches my attention the most. Is he a friend of the scouts?**

**SonicxReiHino: Come on, Batthan. Ya know I'm not gonna tell you.**

**Batthan: Ok, fine. But I was right about Mina. *smiles***

**SonicxReiHino: Yeah, but you don't know what exactly she's making.**

**Batthan: True. *screen fades out to black***


	5. Sweet Dreams and Risky Tastes

**Sailormoon _S_: The Golden Heart : Act IV: Part II**

"That was just as great as ever," Molly smiled, walking beside Serena with dozen shopping bags in her hands. "So do you like the stuff you bought, Serena?"

"Totally," Serena replied proudly, looking inside all of her bags. "Thanks to your brains and my brilliant sense of fashion."

Molly chuckled at the blond for saying that, then the auburn-haired teen looked down at her own items. There were more outfits in the store Molly wanted, but she had a unchangeable budget. Hopefully the things she ended up purchasing would be suitable for the event that was taking place later on.

"There it is, Molly!" Serena called her friend's attention, pointing at a building with a sign that read "Sweet Rainbow Pastries" in bold colorful letters.

This was Molly's first time visiting her buddy's favorite sweet store. The desserts that lay in front of the windows brought a smile to her face, with their sugar-coated and sprinkled designs on each food. She could feel the child in her exert from her body.

"Well, whadda ya waitin' for, Serena? Let's go in and try some of their desserts!" Molly grabbed Serena's arm and together they entered the bakery with excitement.

Just as they had seen at the shelf in front of the window, more delectable sweets and goodies captured their minds with appeal. Inside of glass cases and on top of tables were cakes, pies, strudels, fruit and jelly-filled tarts, donuts, and cookies.

"Is this heaven or what, Molly?" asked Serena, mouth wide open over a glass case of chocolate mud pie.

"You can say that again," Molly replied, digging anxiously into her coin purse. Unfortunately there was no spare change; only old receipts and pieces of lint.

"Molly, what's wrong?" Serena noticed her friend's struggle with her small purse. The defeated expression on her face had to be enough for Serena to figure out.

"I spent all my money on clothes!" Molly cried.

Without realizing it, Molly had used all of her cash at the mall. So Serena comforted Molly by handing her a surprising gift.

"Here Take this."

It was a five dollar bill. Molly widened her eyes and she became awestruck by this kind action.

"But how did you manage to keep this?" Molly asked in a baffled tone.

She almost couldn't see how Serena was able to act frugal with her money.

When Serena heard these words she looked back with irritated expression.

"I don't just spend every penny I get, you know. Besides, I didn't even know I had this until something told me to look inside my wallet's side pocket."

Molly placed her hand to her mouth and started giggling. It wasn't her fault Serena's actions were unpredictable. Who knew she could be wise with her allowance?

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, its nothin'," Molly ceased her laughing and put her hand down. "So, I think we should check out those cherry tarts over there," Molly pointed a table next to the left wall of the bakery shop.

"OK!" Serena agreed happily.

At the cashier's desk was a gorgeous employee with long, curly cotton candy hair, bright-red eyes, and pale olive skin. And she was wearing the store's cashier outfit, which was a white and coral striped shirt, white pants, and rose tennis shoes.

'Something creeps me out about that cashier,' thought the mysterious man who stared at her through the front glass window.

Suddenly the cashier took notice of him, causing the mysterious man to take action and move away from the window.

'That was a close one.'

"Alright! I think we've come to a decision," Serena told the cashier lady, placing her and Molly's items on the desk.

Their final choices were the cherry-filled tarts and creamy marshmallow pie.

Promptly, the cashier lady looked at both items then up at Serena and Molly with a pleasant smile. It remained this way for few seconds.

"Umm...aren't you gonna tell us how much to pay?" Serena asked in a confused tone.

Both her and Molly stood frozen with fear. The smile on the cashier's face never disappeared.

"Hahahahahahaha..." the cashier began to laugh in a sweet tone.

Soon Molly and Serena were freaked out by this strange woman's unknown humor.

"Hahahahahahaha..." After the cashier's laughter ended, strange things started to happen.

The crust began to rip open as its filling slowly emerged out of Serena's pie. Meanwhile Molly's cherry tarts lifted into the air and aimed at her like homing missiles.

"Why would I need to do that when I could just... take your Pure Heart instead?"

"WHA-?" Molly yelled in confusion. Her and Serena watched as the cashier took off her uniform, to reveal a short emerald dress and bisque-colored apron.

"What's goin' on here!" Quickly Serena put her guard up and stood in front of Molly.

"I should be the one to explain that!" came a female voice from the bakery's back room.

When the person entered, she carried gorgeous jade eyes and and a ivory lab coat, it was no one else but Lola.

Both Serena and Molly kept their eyes on this girl at she joined the cashier's side. Serena guessed correctly as to who Lola worked for.

"You see that person over there who's about to kick your butt? Her name is Paistro (Maestro+Pastry), and she has the ability to manipulate any pastry or sweet she wants, including the stuff she's gonna use on you!"

Serena and Molly kept quiet during these moments.

"Now, Paistro! Take care of the blond and get the other girl's heart."

"Gladly!" retorted the dessert-type Daimon.

"Molly! Get out of here and run away as far as you can!" yelled Serena, pulling out her transformation brooch.

"Like you could ever save your little friend," Paistro let out a smirk with sarcasm in her voice.

Suddenly the marshmallow from the pie flew towards Serena and engulfed her entire body before she could transform.

"Aaaah!" Serena fell towards the ground with a thud.

Molly gasped in fear as she turned around and witnessed this supernatural phenomenon.

"What... kind of dessert... is this?"

Serena tried breaking free, then grunted from the frustration it gave her.

"Serena!" Molly knelt down and tried to tear the sticky sweetness off of her friend's body, but soon she felt a rough pain at her waist.

Lola snickered to herself as she watched this. Would this actually be her big moment?

"Hey! I thought you wanted to try you're cherry tarts," Paistro smirked, raising another tart to throw it at Molly.

This next one was directed for her chest, but Molly arose from the ground in time and dodged it, accidentally knocking over a shelf with assorted cookies.

"Oh? So you'd rather have cookies instead? Well, the more the merrier!" Paistro laughed as she controlled the cookies to float in unison and circle around Molly.

"No! I don't want any of your sweets! I want you to let me and my friend go!" Molly shouted defiantly, ignoring the dozens treats that flew around her.

First Paistro's facial expression was shocked, and the cookies circling Molly fell to the ground.

With utter disbelief, Molly looked down at them then up at Paistro.

Then a cunning grin returned to her face. Molly was unsure of this and thought the dessert frenzy ended.

"Well I'm sorry, little girl..." Paistro replied softly as a long rope of licorice came from behind her. "But Sweet Rainbow Pastries doesn't accept no for an answer!"

It was right after that the giant licorice rope headed towards Molly.

"Molly! Run!" Serena cried.

Without hesitation, Molly turned around and ran for the bakery entrance. She didn't dare turn around to see if the licorice was still behind her, then suddenly a shout of pain was heard.

Still afraid, Molly turned around to find the evil licorice on the floor.

"Huh?"

Seeing that she wouldn't be chased after, Molly took a look at the cashier desk and didn't notice anyone.

Moments later, a painful moan could be heard, and Paistro arose from behind the counter. The only difference now was that she appeared to look electrocuted from head to toe. Smoke came from her fried hair while her face was burnt.

"Hey! Whose trying to ruin my big moment?" Lola asked in an upset tone.

"Who did that and thought I wouldn't notice?" Paistro spoke angrily, coming from behind the cashier counter.

"I did!" said the voice of a familiar boy, as a small creature returned to his side.

Everyone turned their eyes towards the source of this voice. A cute pudgy rodent was on his shoulder, and a beautiful warrior dressed in flame-colored outfit standing beside him.

"Ash!" Molly exclaimed with relief and was surprised at the same time.

"And Venus!" Serena gave the same emotion.

Lola didn't care who these new heroes were. They would be annihilated if she had anything to say about it.

"That's right!" began Sailor Venus with one hand on her hip. "How dare you harm my friends with the thing they love most? Only someone evil and with terrible skin could think of that!"

Veins emerged from Paistro's face.

"What'd you say you little brat?" She clenched her fists until her knuckles turned into a different color.

Lola couldn't help but laugh at her new enemy's joke silently.

"I shall put an end to your sugary madness, in the name of Venus!" Sailor Venus declared, forming her trademark scout pose.

"And so will we!" added Ash in a confident tone.

"Pika Pika!"

'Ash is a superhero? And with a talkin' mouse?' Molly thought curiously with wonder.

She couldn't take her eyes off of his; not with this unexpected role he was taking. Finally Ash noticed Molly and smiled.

"It's alright, Molly. You can leave now. We'll take care of this."

"Right," Molly smiled back and gave a nod.

Now Molly looked at Ash in a different way; in a more heroic and appealing sense. She knew something was different about him when they were introduced, but to think of what he was like now. Just how had he met Serena?

Meanwhile the mysterious man remained outside and watched their battle until he saw they needed assistance.

So with that, Molly headed towards the door, but noticed a glop of fluffy marshmallow come in contact with it; encasing the door's side and handle.

Molly let out a gasp and looked back at the cashier with horror. Was this just all a nightmare?

Ash, Serena, Venus, and Pikachu frowned at the cashier's move.

The mysterious man hurried towards the door and began pulling its, handle, but it wouldn't budge at all.

'It's completely glued with marshmallow!'

"You're not going anywhere, little girl! There's still something we need from you!" Lola remarked in a determined tone.

"Oh yeah?" Ash interrupted her statement. "Come on, Pikachu. Charge at her with Iron Tail!"

"Pika!" The electric Pokemon obeyed its trainer and rushed at Paistro full speed. She was caught by its adorable petite features.

Meanwhile Venus planned to help Serena out of the marshmallows.

"Venus! Go with the others and help them! You can't get me outta this."

"No way!" replied Venus, digging through the sticky treat with her gloved-fingers. "I'm not gonna just leave you like this when we need Sailor Moon to show up!"

Venus didn't care how much the marshmallow clung to her.

Serena smiled up at her friend about this. When she needed a friend they were always there.

'Mina...'

"Oh, how cute! Do you wanna try my sweets too, little rat?" Paistro thought this rodent's attempt were too good to be true.

Lola waited and figured Paistro would dodge the special technique.

Ignoring her words, Pikachu remained focused as his tail began to glow, and in an instant Pikachu brutally swung it towards her. Paistro didn't consider what was charging at her, and in failure she was attacked.

"Uhhh!" Her back slammed against the wall, and she fell behind the counter. Everyone shifted their eyes towards this as their was silence.

"Did we win?" Ash couldn't help but ask.

Molly agreed with this question and hoped for positives.

"Paistro, you idiot! How could you let a rat knock you out?" Lola snapped at her. "Now, get back up and show these losers who's boss!"

Still the 18 year old decided to stay out of this fight and watch her minion take care of it.

"No...not yet," Venus responded in a serious tone, slightly disappointing her friends.

Paistro arose from behind the counter with an angry expression on her face. Now she was totally upset and wouldn't give any more chances.

"You're little friend's right..." Pikachu looked up at Paistro and wondered what was meant by that remark.

Then suddenly every dessert item in the room started to rise from their spots, including Serena was who still trapped in marshmallow goop.

"Serena!" Venus gasped as her and the others also became alarmed.

"Venus! Help me!" Serena cried helplessly as she was lifted up and glued to the ceiling like scotch tape.

Her friends turned their eyes towards the cashier after this.

"...now all of you will have a taste of my dessert collection!" the Daimon finished her sentence as she commanded the dozen treats to fly in random directions.

"Molly, watch out!" Ash knocked her out of the way as a two-layer white cake came pummeling at them.

The delicate treat splattered onto the window when it missed its target.

Venus was dodging and leaping away from the multiple pies that rushed after her. Apple. Cherry. Boysenberry. And even Strawberry. One by one, these different flavors crashed into the wall right behind her as she moved her feet.

"There's a lot more where that came from!" Paistro laughed as she sent dozen more towards Sailor Venus.

This time it was lemon, banana, mint, and even orange pies.

While Sailor Venus continued down the store's aisle, Pikachu was busy returning to Ash and Molly.

"Where do you think you're going, little rat?" Lola asked sweetly.

"Paistro, maybe you should see if it likes chocolate."

Clueless on what she was saying, Pikachu still ran towards Ash and Molly, but suddenly felt something squirt at him.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled as he watched the chocolate liquid encase his Pokemon.

Before Ash could stop the cashier's action, chocolate spread through out Pikachu's furred body, and turned the precious mouse into a dark statue. Then Ash finally made it to its side and picked it up.

Instead of being his friendly and trustworthy partner, now Pikachu was nothing more than a sculpture; with a unbreakable chocolate exterior.

At this rate, Pikachu would never be his side again. Ash kept his eyes on Pikachu; it wasn't the same holding a lifeless buddy. The Pokemon Trainer could feel his heart grow pain. Venus came from around the aisle and noticed this shocking event.

"Pikachu...?" Molly murmured to herself while cascades traveled down her face. Even Serena from above became saddened by this sweet tragedy.

Now Sailor Venus and Ash were the only heroes left before Molly's heart could be snatched.

Without speaking, Ash walked over to Molly with Pikachu and handed him to her.

"Here... hold him for me."

In response, Molly held it in her hands, then looked back up at Ash. She knew that things were about to get ugly.

As Ash's behavior seemed to please Paistro, so she stood still and waited for his next move. Ash turned away from Molly and kept his head lowered down. Tears could be seen trailing down his cheeks.

"You...you WITCH!" Ash yelled in fury, as he charged straight at Paistro and Lola.

Along with Venus and Serena, even Molly knew this was a foolish move; but they knew what drove him towards it.

"Ash, retreat! That's not a good idea!" Venus beckoned to him.

But before he could even give the scout's words some thought, Ash continued towards Paistro and was tackled from his right by an army of iced cakes.

"You should've listened to your friend, little boy," said Paistro, as she began walking towards Ash and watched him wipe cake remains from his face.

A lemon pie sitting behind Mina begun to open its crust, and soon the filling begun to splash out like a volcano. Ash noticed their enemy's unusual hand movements and took sign of this warning.

"Venus, behind you!" Molly yelled out before Ash could.

"Huh?"

Sailor Venus quickly turned around, but didn't manage to escape the flavored sweetness in time.

"Aaahhh!' She shouted in frustration as it took her to the same ceiling spot as Serena.

Molly wasn't sure if she could take this nightmare anymore, and neither did Ash.

"Like I was saying..." Paistro continued.

"You'll pay for this!" Ash ceased her sentence as he pulled out a Poke Ball from his pocket and enlarged its size.

Rather than fear, this only made Paistro laugh.

Before Ash could unleash the Pokemon from its ball, a dark fudge cookie came zipping from its tray and knocked it out of his hand.

"Sorry, but no toys allowed in this bakery," Paistro told him with a smile as his ball rolled under one of the aisles.

What she didn't know was that Ash had 4 more of were those came from.

With a smirk on his face, he began to reach for his pocket again, but suddenly felt a pair of life-size licorice force him into the wall. And if that wasn't enough, piles of marshmallow and lemon filling came shortly after to glue the licorice to the wall.

With only herself left and the others either trapped or frozen, Molly knew she was useless and couldn't help herself.

With nothing to do but continue holding Pikachu, she held the encased rodent close to her chest and began to cry. Her throat became dry and sore and her wet tears got all unto Pikachu.

"This is all my fault...why did I have to make Serena promise me pizza...?"

In a matter of seconds Molly started letting out loud sobs. When their sound waves reached the cashier , the rose-haired villain became annoyed.

"Stop you're crying, little girl! You're giving me an earache!" complained Lola.

"Paistro. It's time to take what we came for."

And so Paistro sent a batch of creamy marshmallow at Molly and plastered her to the left side of the front window while she still held Pikachu.

"Molly! Pikachu!"Ash cried.

"How is this backdoor also locked?" The mysterious man thought out loud, yanking the door handle and kicking the door with his foot.

After constant tries, he sat against the door and let out a sigh.

Meanwhile Ash noticed a familiar face right in front of his.

"Out of all you losers, I like you the best."

Next Ash felt Lola's hand holding his chin.

'I think you have what it takes to do what I do," Lola continued.

"Whadda you say, kid?" Ash's cheeks started to fidget with their blushing.

Lola waited as if Ash would really take her offer, while everyone else stayed mute.

The more Sailor Venus watched Lola's fingertips around Ash's flesh, the more it dug like knives into her own.

"GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF HIM, YOU FASHION REJECT!"

These fierce words caught everyone off guard, especially Ash since he knew Mina had been practically flirting with him, and Serena because she never knew her friend liked Ash.

Lola took her hand away from Ash's face and slowly turned around to look at Mina. The anger in her body was boiling immensely.

Honestly, Lola had loved the combination of items she was wearing, but now she was deliberately being insulted for it.

"What did... you just.. call me...?"

Anyone who knew Lola should've known about her harsh temper, but Venus was obviously bold.

"You heard me! No one wears a yellow top with purple boots and gets away with it!"

The scout's anger was just as hot as Lola's.

While stuck to marshmallow, Molly wondered how the rest of this would turn out.

"Paistro!" Lola gritted her teeth furiously while veins appeared on her forehead. "Forget that girl and get this bleach blond right here!"

"But boss she -" Paistro's words were ended by Lola's fueled anger.

"I don't care! Just get rid of her! Destroy her Pure Heart if you have to!" Lola replied, waving her hands and shaking her head frantically.

If only the young adult could see how much of a brat she was acting right now; This disturbed her foes including Molly.

'Wow...she's even worse than Serena,' Molly sighed to herself.

'Talk about anger management. Mina really hit one of her nerves,' Serena thought in an odd manner.

'Do all girls get this angry?' Ash began to question this.

Following its leader's orders, Paistro positioned herself under Sailor Venus and revealed a ebony star tattoo behind her bangs.

'So she was serious...?'

Sailor Venus wished she could escape from the sticky lemon filling, but all she could do was move her head. Her friends grew fearful of what would happen in the next few moments.

So each of them still tried effortlessly to escape their sugary bondages.

Meanwhile Paistro was charging up for her deadly move. Venus let out a gasp as she noticed this. She kept a devastated expression on her face because the sailor soldier could feel the closeness of her life's end at this point.

"Don't you dare harm her!" Serena threatened Paistro.

"Get ready to have your Pure Heart taken, little girl!"

The five-pointed shape from Paistro's forehead emitted a black beam, aimed directly at Mina's chest.

As soon as it came in contact with her body, Sailor Venus let out a hysterical scream.

While her heart crystal was being tampered with, she shook her head to deal with the shocking pain.

"Venuuus!" Serena cried as tears flew from her face.

"Why are you doing this?" Ash yelled as he battled with the licorice entangled around him.

Molly felt it was her fault that Sailor Venus had to suffer for a situation that primarily involved her.

'I'm the one who should give up my heart, not her...TAKE ME INSTEAD!' Molly shook her head in self-defiance as tears flew from her eyes.

During Paistro's heart snatching sequence, Lola kept a cunning grin. Now she could have revenge for the rude insult Venus gave her, and still return to the Professor with a completed task.

"Good," the blue-haired girl spoke aloud, looking at the now unconscious Sailor Venus.

The scout's skin had become more pale and lifeless, while her head was slightly lowered.

"Return that back to my friend!" Serena begged tearfully.

"Without that in her body, she's not caring or loving at all. And there's someone who she wants to share that with," Serena continued on.

Ash looked up at Serena and wondered about those words. Was Mina that infatuated with him?

'This girl has somethin' for Ash? I wonder what Mina will do if she ever finds out,' Molly thought with wonder.

"And I'll do everything in my power to make sure she gets that dream..." Serena concluded, looking over at the fainted Sailor Venus.

It appeared that her body had sweated without the heart crystal in her chest. Ash was speechless by this entire speech made by Serena. Her truly didn't feel the same towards Mina, but words from her friend revealed a deep secret. Now Ash would probably have to behave more open-minded, since it wasn't like no one would ever notice his appealing characteristics.

After Paistro obtained Venus's heart and now held it in her villainous palm, the pastry monster began to feel the victory rush through her body; and it felt spectacular.

"Ha! Who has the terrible skin now, you little - WHA?" Her words were interrupted as broken glass could be heard, quickly followed by an orange blur knocking Mina's pure heart out of her grasp.

"Are you kidding me!" Lola began frustratedly. "Who's here to ruin my plan this time?"

In an instant, three familiar girls hopped in through the shattered front window and stood before Paistro and Lola.

"Uranus! Neptune!" Serena cried with absolute joy.

"Trista!" Ash's face lit up with delight.

Now the day would be saved.

Suddenly the young boy was given a sweet smile from those garnet-ruby eyes. Ash knew Trista would keep her promise to Delia. As for Molly, she simply gave the same expression. Now this sugar-filled nightmare would be over.

"Soo, thought you could bring our friends here for sweets..." Sailor Uranus began their heroic line.

..and not invite us?" Neptune finished with a small smile.

Sitting firmly in her hands was Venus's heart crystal. Serena took notice of this and cried with relief.

'Thank you, Neptune...'

"It's time you put away the sweets and prepare to fight, because we're not merciful!" Pluto defiantly pointed her staff at Lola.

Lola sighed as she was forced to hear these justice-filled statements. More Sailor Scouts was the only thing she needed to ruin her success as a Death Buster.

"Soldier of Sky and Distance, I'm Sailor Uranus!" Amara crossed her arms and formed her scout pose.

"Guardian of the deep blue sea, I'm Sailor Neptune, and I fight for what's right!" The aquatic scout joined her ally by standing leftward of her.

"Keeper of Time, I'm Sailor Pluto! And as for this battle..." Trista leaped into the air and stood between her supportive comrades. "Only time will tell."

"Yeah, yeah, we get it already," Lola remarked rudely, pulling out two vials from her pocket.

In them were red and blue chemical liquids.

"Paistro. Why don't you say we make this a three on three?" Lola made an evil smirk.

The blue-haired girl began to walk towards a table with gingerbread men and chocolate-almond brownies.

"Sure, I don't see why not," Paistro replied with a similar emotion.

Everyone wondered what Lola meant by this type of battle, then suddenly noticed a change in the desserts she poured her chemicals on. One of the baked gingerbread man took in the chemical's energy and became life-size.

Meanwhile a square brownie took in it's blue chemicals and transformed into a glob of chocolate and almonds; three feet taller than Neptune. Ash and Molly gawked at this extreme occurrence; the others weren't so surprised.

Lola backed away as she witnessed the beginning to this action-packed battle. Paistro was the last to prepare, by causing a red and white peppermint cane to float into her hand and become a double-edged sword.

Uranus stood before the gingerbread man, while Neptune's apparent opponent was the giant brownie glob. As for Sailor Pluto, she would take on Paistro's candied-sword with her trusty Garnet Orb.

Molly grew iffy at the odds the Outer Scouts were up against. Ash became excited at beating Trista would give them, and Serena also felt relieved; but only still worried for something else.

'Please hurry so you guys can return Mina's heart crystal,' the trapped blond looked over at her unconscious friend.

'Give those creeps a good beating,' thought the mysterious man who was watching through the broken window.

Lola was anxious about this climatic scene. Who would win: Paistro and her excellent pastry experiments, or the Sailor Losers with their annoying hero lines?

"Well, hope you girls enjoy my gingerbread and brownies," Paistro smiled sweetly.

"You better believe we will," retorted Sailor Uranus with a determined smirk.

* * *

**End of Act IV: Part II**

**Batthan:*screen fades in from black* Wow...now I feel like going to the bakery.**

**SonicxReiHino: Well, I wanted to change twist some things around. Using the regular Sailor Moon S formula would've been boring.**

**Batthan: Sure, but who to think you'd go this far? Daimons who can control sweets? That's awesome, SonicxReiHino!**

**SonicxReiHino: Thanks, Batthan. So, anything else you'd like to say?**

**Batthan: Well, there's something I'm curious about? So Mina really does like Ash?**

**SonicxReiHino: Well, she IS known to be flirtatious. Maybe like you said, it could also be his aura. And besides, I found it funny when she got all jealous over Lola. *giggles* Gotta have comic relief.**

**Batthan: Yeah, well I just hope Ash meets up with Lita soon.**

**SonicxReiHino: And that's a promise I will keep. *winks* *screen fades out to black***


	6. Hidden Tears and Crescent Moons

**Sailormoon _S_: The Golden Heart : Act IV: Part III**

The bakery shop, now turned into a dangerous battlefield was extremely silent. Michelle had more difficulty than her comrades, with Mina's heart crystal in her hand; the brownie goop monster wouldn't give her any time.

"Prepare to taste my treats!"

Paistro unleashed her battle cry, rushing towards Sailor Pluto with her candy sword. Pluto prepared for this upcoming attack, meanwhile Sailor Neptune took action in dodging the brownie monster's humongous globs of chocolate.

The gingerbread man was the first to make an attempt at Uranus, but she easily dodged the sugary cookie's punch. It continued this way for a few minutes, until Amara let the flat breaded minion grow tired, and she knocked it over by kicking its feet. When it landed flat on the ground, Uranus didn't hesitate to crumble its iced faced with the heel on her boots.

After doing this, the navy-blue sailor let a smirk appear across her face, and while battling with Pluto, Paistro still noticed this and gasped in disbelief.

"Too bad I didn't have any milk on me, or your gingerbread would've been better than it was," Uranus remarked in a joking tone.

Paistro angrily gritted her teeth, but didn't have time to react as Trista's staff roughly came in contact with her striped sword.

"Uranus! Watch out for that shelf!" Ash called for her attention.

When Sailor Uranus heard his cautious yell, she noticed one of the dessert shelves falling towards her. Quickly, she moved towards an aisle and watched the multiple shelves cause a domino effect. Her plan now was to aid Sailor Neptune with the chocolate brownie glob.

'Man!' Lola frowned as she saw her plan failed.

Lola was completely fed up with the arrival of the Sailor Scouts; maybe she couldn't return to the Professor with a Pure Heart in her hands, but she would try to put a stop to them.

'Lola, look at the floor,' a tiny voice spoke inside of her mind.

It was some sort of spherical orb with a red top and white bottom that had rolled from under one of the bakery shelves. Lola's eyes were glued to the mysterious item.

'Sorry, but no toys allowed in this bakery.'

Lola remembered how Paistro had knocked the mechanical ball out of Ash's hand. There must have been more to the mysterious possession if Ash's attitude was serious. So Lola decided she would confiscate the beginner Poke Ball and hopefully take it back to the Professor for investigation.

"URANUS WORLD SHAKING!" Amara released an orange ball of energy and sent it towards Neptune's dark opponent; causing it to shrink immensely and melt into a small chocolate puddle.

"Yeaah! Go Uranus!" Ash cheered on the Soldier of Sky.

"You go, Uranus! Show those jerks who's boss!" joined in Serena from the ceiling.

Instead of giving her own type of compliment, Molly only gave a joyful smile as her eyes gleamed. Even in her sticky circumstance, the redhead realized the Sailors had a higher chance of winning.

Lola heard these cheers and became mad, so the villain acted quick in grabbing Ash's Poke Ball. She stood up and studied it for a few seconds, checking each and every side.

"Uranus. See if you can help those two from the ceiling," suggested Sailor Neptune.

"Right."

Sailor Uranus got into her battle position.

"URANUS..."

"Paistro!"

"WORLD..."

"Sailor Pluto!"

Instantly Uranus stopped her attack as everyone's attention was placed on Lola, who had called Pluto's name.

'My Poke Ball!" Ash thought in surprise.

Amara knew this could be trouble, seeing one of Ash's Poke Balls in the hands of their new foe.

'That's...'

'Ash's Poke Ball!' Michelle took the same emotion.

Sailor Pluto, Serena, and Molly became amazed at the Poke Ball's features.

"What is that thing?" Molly thought out loud.

"Hey! That's the toy I knocked out of that little boy's hand. So why do you have it, boss?" Paistro asked Lola in a surprised tone.

"Good question, Paistro. Let's end this battle and see what the Professor thinks about it," Lola replied while holding the Poke Ball in her right hand.

Seeing her ultimate decision, Ash began fighting with the licorice that was holding him against the wall.

"Give me back my Poke Ball!"

Lola grinned at the Pokemon Trainer for his spunky attitude.

"A Poke Ball, huh? Well, thanks for the info, handsome!" Lola retorted as she gave an eye wink to Ash then rushed towards the bakery back room.

Ash blushed at this unexpected comment, but didn't let it simmer in his mind for too long.

It had only been a few days since he came to Trista's universe and had different situations with beautiful females. Could it merely be that unwanted luck was on his side?

Ash didn't want to believe what he was witnessing occur at this moment; why did he have to worry about Pokemon thieves in this universe?

Out of nowhere, a orange light was heading towards Ash. With its power, the special attack melted away the licorice prison along with its candied glue. Then Ash fell straight to the ground with nothing to land on. The young boy looked up and noticed who his savior was.

"Uranus!" Ash gave a grateful smile to the older hero.

Sailor Uranus saw this eased expression and returned a smile.

"You should go after that girl and get what's yours. We'll take care of things here."

"Right," Ash responded with a raised fist, then headed after Lola.

After making several attempts, he let himself slide his back against the door and sit.

"Who locks this door when the bakery's open?" The mysterious man complained, as he rushed to the back of the sweet shop and tried opening it's metal door.

"Now's my big moment!" Lola declared with glee as she rushed through the door, sending the mysterious man against the opposite wall.

His handsome face pressed into the alley wall like a stamp, giving him an brick design.

"I just had to ask..."

After falling from the wall and shaking his head to remove the ugly marks, the mysterious man heard another pair of footsteps come from inside the bakery.

Ash looked both ways while standing in the alley. Then he noticed a tall man dressed in all white regaining his posture. The length of his hair was unbelievable.

"Uhh, mister? Have you seen a girl with blue hair come through here? And she's holding a red and white ball."

"Actually no, since I was attacked by the door."

The mysterious man didn't bother to think of how weird this answer sounded. It left Ash with a confused face.

"But I could help you look for her," the mysterious man quickly changed the subject.

"URANUS, WORLD, SHAKING!"

Soon Molly and Pikachu were freed from their sweet traps. The chocolate statue was no more, as it melted off Pikachu's body.

"Pikachu!" Molly cried as she hugged the pint-sized Pokemon.

After she was finished weeping with joy, Molly let Pikachu go because it was wondering where its trainer went.

"Pika?"

"Ash went after the bad guy to retrieve his Poke Ball," Trista sensed the worry in the Pikachu's eyes.

"Pikachu..." it wanted to go after him, but Trista knew it would mean a chance of getting lost.

Next, Serena and Sailor Venus were saved from their sticky situations. Sailor Pluto caught Venus with grace.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Meanwhile Serena was luckily handled. The girl found herself in Uranus's arms.

"Thanks, Uranus," Serena sounded a bit surprised.

Neptune held the heart crystal in front of Venus's chest, ready to place it back inside. Everyone was relieved to see this moment. Their eyes gleamed with hope.

"Sorry to break up the touching moment, but I'm not leaving without a Pure Heart." Paistro readied her candy cane sword.

The dessert-type Daimon could feel the sense of power and demand run through her body. Even without Lola, she would get the task done.

But suddenly Paistro felt a delectable treat smack her hard in the face. It contained red fruit filling.

"Cherry...pie..." her face flushed red with total anger. She couldn't take the Sailor Scouts anymore.

"Well, hope you enjoyed my cherry pie," Sailor Uranus spoke in the sweetest tone she could make.

Not only had this Sailor Soldier used one of Paistro's earlier remarks, but the cherry pie filling against Paistro's face felt unpleasant.

Paistro started to growl in fury as she wiped the sweet contents off her sticky face.

"I've had just about enough of you girl's ruining our plans!" Paistro motioned her hands to control licorice, cookies, and cake. "Now get ready to have a sweet feast!"

Pikachu stood itself in front of Molly since she grew afraid.

With one rough sway of her right arm, multiple assorted cookies and cakes were sent towards Molly and Neptune, followed by the lengthy licorice being commanded by Paistro's left arm. Pikachu's cheeks sparked with electricity while this was taking place, while Sailor Uranus formed her battle position.

"PLUTO, DEADLY SCREAM!" Suddenly a purple orb of energy was sent towards Paistro's dessert attack.

"Pikaaaaaaaaachuuuuuuuuu!"

Sailor Pluto's attack was followed by a surge of yellow electricity from Pikachu; now the Pluto Deadly Scream glowed brighter and contained tiny electric sparks flowing around it.

These combined powers not only brushed past and destroyed Paistro's 'sweet feast', but soon the female Daimon found it speeding towards her. She could feel her life's end at this moment as her foes' attack rammed into her body and brutally electrocuted her.

"CHERRY PIE!" These last words echoed as Paistro transformed into a small white seed, then it cracked open and released a smoky violet ghost.

Sailor Venus's heart crystal finally came face to face with her chest, and after it was inserted, Mina's complexion regained its usual color.

As she slowly opened her eyes, her friends who circled around her all smiled with relief.

"Did we win?" Sailor Venus spoke in a low tone.

Mostly Serena, Molly, and Pikachu were glad for that question, because they remembered when Ash asked Venus. Serena looked over at Molly and used sign language with her blue eyes. Molly gladly took the honor of this non-verbal suggestion.

"Yeah, we did." It brought happiness to the redhead for her to give the answer.

Rather than use the sidewalk, Ash ran through the paved streets with the mysterious man on his side. They remained straight instead of making left or right turns, and to their luck they found Lola catching her breath near a blue telephone booth.

"Shoot! Why didn't I just drive so that I'd have a quicker way of losing them?"

After making few more pants, two pairs of footsteps came her way.

"Ohh, well if it isn't handsome again, and..."

Once Lola took a good look at the mysterious man's face, her body practically became frozen stiff, and her face blush never disappeared.

In a confused manner, Ash stared at her, then he turned his eyes towards the mysterious man. Whatever he was doing, it was really helping.

Without hesitation, Ash went towards Lola and retrieved his Poke Ball, then decided Lola should get to see what it really was. He formed a smirk on his face when beginning this short plan.

"So, Lola. You wanna know what's inside of here? Well, come on out, Infernape!"

Ash tossed the Poke Ball, and after a red light zipped out, a brown and white ape with fiery hair and sharp blue eyes appeared.

"W-what is that?" While still being stared at, the mysterious man couldn't help but gawk at Ash's fire Pokemon. For an animal it was large.

"It's my Pokemon!" Ash responded sheepishly as he scratched his head.

He had to remember exactly that he wasn't home anymore.

"Now, Infernape, use Fire Punch!"

As its owner commanded, Infernape formed a batch of fiery flames in his right fist. The primate clenched his hand, and jabbed the lovesick Lola at her side.

And so she was knocked high into the air by Infernape's powerful attack. Soon enough, she opened her eyes and the blushing expression faded away.

"W-w-wha?" Lola looked from the sky at Ash, Infernape, and the mysterious man.

Thanks to Infernape, her entire body was crispy and burnt.

"How did I end up like this?" The Death Buster looked down at herself and noticed the darkened features.

So Lola started to grit her teeth, and in an outrage, she yelled out a final sentence.

"I'LL COME BACK FOR YOU AND YOUR POKE BALL!"

As Lola ascended, Ash and the others saw nothing more than a shiny white dot. She was absolutely far away from them now.

"We did it!" Ash shouted in victory, as he knelt down to hug his Infernape.

The fire Pokemon returned the friendly embrace, while the mysterious man looked at them both with a small smile.

"Pikaaaaa!"

It didn't take long for Ash to recognize that small squeaky voice. Quickly he let go of Infernape and ran towards his yellow buddy.

Once they came in visible contact with each other, Pikachu hopped into Ash's arms and was embraced warmly.

"Pikachu! I'm so glad you're not chocolate anymore..." Ash and the yellow rodent looked into each others gleaming eyes.

Meanwhile their friends stood away from them and watched in pure awe. Michelle felt pleasant that Ash was once again reunited with his best friend. Amara's arms were crossed, but a tiny smile still emerged on her face, along with Trista. Molly had clasped her hands together and watched the touching moment with her mouth slightly agape.

'Aww, if only I had brought my camera with me.'

Serena was standing beside Molly with the same emotion, while Ash suddenly felt a familiar hand touch his shoulder.

"Thanks, Ash. If it weren't for you, we'd still have to deal with that weird girl. And to make it up to you..." Mina's tone lowered.

At this moment, Ash widened his eyes and stared at Mina confusedly. With his face blushed with red, Ash watched her slowly close her eyes and lean her face towards his.

Everyone else gasped and watched in not only silence but also surprise.

'Mina!' Serena wished her friend could be more sincere about Ash's feelings; her flirtatious behavior was never controlled.

Mina's glossed lips weren't too far from Ash's untouched ones. Before anyone could speak, Mina made a small yelp and stumbled backwards.

"Oww!"

"Huh?" Serena thought out loud, as her and the others wondered about Mina's sudden action. Why would she instantly move back when she had this chance of finally kissing Ash?

"Pika Pika!" 'Pikachu.'

Trista realized what had just occurred. Everyone else gasped at this scene and wondered what could have possibly gotten Pikachu so worked up.

Feeling the minor pain, Mina remained on the ground and kept her head bent down.

"Pikachu, what was that for? You didn't have to shock her!"

True, Ash hadn't wanted exactly lips pressed against his, but what Pikachu did was deliberately harsh.

But the tempered mouse didn't care if it hurt Mina's feelings.

"Pika Pikachu."

"Are you alright, Mina?" Ash turned his attention towards Mina.

"Huh...?" Mina looked up with surprise.

At first she thought of Ash to be Serena or Molly, but they didn't go near her. Their thoughts about Pikachu totally changed.

"Oh.. yeah, I'm alright," the blond assured as she picked herself up from the ground.

Everything remained silent even with Mina now standing.

Michelle grew deeply concerned for Pikachu; meanwhile Amara began figuring out it's behavior, but the playful tomboy kept it to herself. The others would find out soon.

"There's actually something I forgot to do. See you guys later!" Without hesitating, Mina turned around and jogged off.

Ash wished he could chase after her, but he wouldn't be able to help; not after his Pokemon zapped her. The raven-haired boy could only stand still as guilt poured down on him like rain.

"That reminds me. Molly," Serena shifted her blue eyes towards Molly.

With silence broken, everyone else gave their full attention.

"There's something that we forgot too." Serena went on with this remark.

"We did?"

Molly could only think but to give her best friend a blank expression. It seemed silly to say this right after seeing Mina take off, with that same phrase.

"Yeah. We forgot to stop by the 'shoe store'," Serena continued on with her false explanation. The longer her face remained on Molly's, the more acquainted her auburn-haired friend grew with this secret idea of hers.

"Ohh, you're right. How silly of me, to forget that we missed the 'costume store'."

Ash, Pikachu, Trista, Amara, and Michelle all formed puzzled faces. Whatever Serena had forgotten must have been to personal to share with them.

Suddenly Ash realized they would be involved with this when Serena and Molly placed their azure eyes on him and Pikachu.

"Ash. Why don't you and Pikachu come with us?"

And so it happened. Whatever Serena was ultimately planning, Ash wasn't sure if he wanted to be included.

So soon Trista found a pair of light-brown eyes staring at her. 'What would the Trista do if she were in this situation?' was the question Ash had in mind. Trista wasn't his parental figure, but Ash figured her to be a sort of wise individual. And right now he wanted some of that wisdom.

"It's alright with me," Trista assured Ash, causing all eyes besides the Pokemon Trainer's to land on her.

"Well, in that case, let's go."

And with that, Serena motioned Ash to follow her and Molly.

As the three of them walked off, Ash was in the middle with Pikachu still on his shoulder, while Serena and Molly walked on his sides.

Now whatever Serena and Molly had forgotten would finally be restored.

"Wonder what exactly they needed to get," Michelle thought out loud.

This entire time, something had been missing from the area, or someone?

"Hey. Did you two see where that guy went?" Michelle was referring to the mysterious man.

Trista and Amara studied the area as they pondered on this.

"He helped save the day. It's a shame we can't thank him," continued Michelle.

"Then there's a chance he'll return," Amara responded to the green-haired woman.

After concluding that topic, another idea that Amara had meant to open up returned to her mind.

"By the way, Trista. What was that with Ash acting like he needed your permission?"

Answering a question such as this never occurred to Trista. Amara must have been merely extra curious.

"When I arrived in his universe, his mother asked me to watch over him."

After hearing this, Amara and Michelle exchanged calm glances. From Trista's words, this woman sounded like a protective character; a mom who'd give anything just to keep her son.

"Well his mother sounds like a nice woman," Michelle responded to that answer.

However, thinking back to everything Delia did as a mother made a sweat drop form on Trista's head; bringing up duties about changing underwear was something a mother should want to keep hidden from people besides her child.

"Yes, she really does her job as a mother."

* * *

As the motorcycle slowed down, Rini was dropped off beside the sidewalk in front of her house. She gave her goodbye to Darien, and pulled out her house key from her pocket.

It didn't take her long to unlock the door and make her way inside.

From within the Tsukino residence's bushes, was a pair of sapphire eyes. They had watched Rini's entire process of walking towards and going through the door; now it was time to continue what he came for, so the mysterious came from out the bushes and stood on his feet.

"Alright. I've gotta tell Luna what the girls are up to."

The mysterious man ripped a sticker off his forehead to reveal a golden crescent moon.

Next he reached for his necklace underneath his shirt and pulled it over his top. This carried an ornament that was also a shiny lunar object.

Without hesitation, the mysterious man grabbed his special necklace, and it began to shimmer brightly. Then soon his entire body took the same effect as his necklace. And so the mysterious man could feel the change at that moment.

The mysterious man's necklace vanished, and he began to morph; his body became furry, a tail grew from his lower back area, his entire body practically shrunk into that of a feline, with the same blue eyes and tattoo on his forehead.

As a cat, the mysterious man somehow felt refreshed and new.

So with this step completed, he decided to enter the Tsukino house through their balcony. Nothing seemed profitable to try except for the car sitting in their driveway.

The mysterious man took notice of this and hopped with his cat legs on the blue jeep's rooftop, followed by a second leap towards Serena's balcony window.

Inside of the Serena's room, Luna sat on her bed with a worried look on her animal face.

"Usually Artemis tells me where he's going before just disappearing. I'm beginning to get worried sick about him."

Suddenly Luna found her ears perking up. A tapping noise was the cause of this.

In an instant, Luna rose from the bed mattress and headed towards the window. She had the biggest feeling it was actually Artemis, returning from a long trip that he'd have no choice but to explain.

Luna grew anxious as she neared towards the glass window. Seeing who it was didn't take long to make her act faster.

"Artemis!" Serena's mentor hurried with opening the window latch. After it clicked and Luna let Artemis in, the two cats returned to the carpet floor and stood before each other.

"Artemis! Just where have you been off to, and not bother informing me?" Luna's hesitation was absent.

"I actually have some news that you must know. Sorry I didn't tell you about me leaving."

Artemis realized how worried his best friend was. He'd make sure to not leave her unaware again.

Unknown to them, Rini just happened to walk past Serena's door and heard Artemis's response. Rini didn't want to miss this discussion at all, so the rose-eyed girl laid against the wall beside Serena's cracked door and remained silent.

So Artemis began to explain the argument he shared with Mina, and also what he heard come from the mouth's of both Serena and Mina; how he had pieced the two together, to come up with a plan that ultimately made Luna fume.

"A costume party? Why didn't they tell us about this?" 'A costume party, and they didn't invite me?' Rini frowned while standing by the door.

'Serena and the others always does fun stuff without inviting me!' At this rate, nothing would change unless the pink child started taking matters into her own hands.

But in the meantime, she would remain against the wall and hear what else the Moon Cats had to say.

"I wish Mina would come to her senses and stop all this costume party nonsense with Serena," Artemis spoke to Luna.

"It's about time Mina got over her fetish of boys," Luna quickly replied. "I was afraid Ash would be the next of her favorites."

'No way! Mina likes Ash?' Rini couldn't believe what she had just heard. This just showed how much detail was hidden from Rini's innocent ears.

"We must hurry and find out where they are now." Luna began to head towards the door, but was stopped by Artemis.

"Wait, Luna. I have a great idea we can both do."

"And what's that?"

Rini's eyebrow raised as she heard this dialogue. She peeked through the door slit to witness what Artemis was talking about.

Suddenly she noticed him close his eyes, and the moon on his forehead began to glow brightly.

Luna was surprised to see that he would do this again; and Rini was completely starstruck by the effects of Artemis's morphing. Through the door, the cotton-candy haired girl had witnessed this entire transformation sequence for herself.

So as the shimmering light around Artemis faded, his human form appeared, and left Rini with the most surprised gasp she could form. His body was structured so handsomely and muscular. His eyes looked like deep blue jewels; his hair so long and white like frosty snow.

'Wooooooow! Artemis looks so handsome as a human!"

Rini moved towards the wall once more and placed both hands on her cheeks; their red blush couldn't be helped. She and the other girls had been unaware of the Moon Cats' ability to turn human. Why had they kept it a secret if they looked so attractive?

"You see, Luna?" Artemis gave a small smile.

Now as a human, Artemis noticed the surprise he placed in Luna because she looked surprised.

"We can get costumes of our own and follow them to the costume party."

This was all Rini needed to hear before preparing for her so-called plan.

Luna stared at Artemis from the ground and remained speechless. She was hesitant to go along with his plan.

"It's been centuries since I turned into a human."

Now Rini was extremely anxious to see the shadowy cat's human form, so her cherry eyes returned to glancing at the Moon Cats.

Silence remained in the room as Luna gave more thought on her friend's suggestion. It felt like only minutes had passed.

Sooner than everyone expected, Luna's crescent mark started to shine. Her transformation was identical to Artemis's, but looks contrasted greatly.

This hadn't phased Artemis the least bit, but Rini found herself shrieking with amazement.

'Luna is so gorgeous too!'

Rini took note of Luna's every detail.

She carried ebony hair flowed like the ocean, smooth peach skin, and eyes that resembled crafted sapphires. Her outfit was a short ruffled sooty dress that was layered by a canary-hued one. And around her lie the exact same necklace as Artemis's.

Rini kept her attention on this as Luna and Artemis merely gave each other quiet stares. They both looked so calm and relieved with the decision to become human.

'If Luna and Artemis hooked up, they'd look so cute together!' Their mere appearances were all Rini could think of.

* * *

**End of Act IV: Part III**

**SonicxReiHino: *screen fades in from black* Well, now everyone knows who the mysterious man is.**

**Batthan: Guess I was way off with my first guess. So now Serena and the others are gonna get it.**

**SonicxReiHino: Yeah, something like that. I wonder what people think about the MinaxAsh moment. Anyone? lol**

**Batthan: Well, all I can say is, Mina messed with the wrong guy, and I mean literally.**

**SonicxReiHino: Thanks. That's a good way to put it. *sweat drop* Well, hope everyone liked this chapter! *screen fades out to black***


	7. Doubtful Invitations Gentle Ice Breakers

**Sailormoon S: The Golden Heart : Act V**

Experiencing the different Pokemon Contests and winning their beautiful ribbons was her biggest goal. With the aid of her Pokemon, Dawn had achieved it all.

As the final chapter to this Coordinator's adventure reached its last pages, she felt there was something missing; someone important whom she would have to honorably give thanks to for supporting her dreams. But he was busy and long gone; the date of his return remained unknown.

"You're not sure where exactly he went, Miss Ketchum?" Dawn asked as she held Piplup in her arms.

"No, I don't. A young lady with green hair appeared and said they needed his help with something. And after that, I watched Ash follow after her through a strange silver door," Delia explained with a hint of sadness in her voice. "I really wanted him to stay here, rather than jump up and leave for another adventure. But the determination in his eyes made me realize.."

As Delia continued this speech, she could begin to feel tears form in her gentle blue eyes. Just seeing her eyes water told Dawn how much Ash's leaving had affected her. Just why exactly did he decide to travel to a different universe?

"...that he'll always go to those in need, no matter what his mother says."

While a tear escaped Delia's eye, Dawn began to feel pity for the dear mother. Then her and Piplup glanced at each other with sad expressions. It could have been concluded that they just came at bad time, but in her mind Dawn still felt that Ash's departure was completely inexcusable.

"I'm sorry, sweetie." Ash's mother wished that her explanation could be sugar coated, but what was truth was true.

With nothing to respond on this, Dawn decided to head out on the road again. Her mother was probably getting worried sick right about now.

"No worries, Miss Ketchum. I'll be on my way now," the azure-haired girl turned around and headed for the front door.

"Now you be careful out on the road by yourself."

"I will. If anything goes wrong, I have Piplup to protect me," Dawn looked back with a confident smile. 'A lady with green hair? Just what would she want Ash for?' Dawn thought worriedly as she grabbed her bike from the porch wall.

Then while Piplup sat in the bicycle basket, Dawn moved the pedals with her feet, and together they headed for Twinleaf Town.

The bright yellow sun hadn't quite reached its set yet. At this time everyone was barging into different stores for party costumes, except for one girl. She had already chosen her outfit for the occasion and decided to relax before meeting up with her.

So while laying in her bubbled bath, Ami wore a light-blue bandanna and reading glasses. She appeared to be reading from a purple hardcover novel.

Lying on the wooden stool beside her tub were a pair of flashy blue tickets, given to the sweet bookworm by Lita.

* * *

**Flashback**

After catching up to Lita, Ami started a new conversation with her, and so the two girls with Luna headed for the Crossroads Cafe. Lita gladly took this as an opportunity since her principal was fussing at her about making friends. But it wasn't only that; for the strangest reason, Lita had spoken words that surprised both Ami.

Unfortunately a sign that read 'NO ANIMALS ALLOWED' was posted on the door, so Luna found a window near their table and gazed through it.

While sitting at the table, Ami and Lita exchanged smiles with the pleasant chat they were having. Lita had a feeling this navy-blue haired girl would be the perfect friend for her.

"Hey. By the way, aren't you into chess?" This was the first suspenseful moment that Ami endured; she hadn't yet shared any of her hobbies with Lita.

Luna realized things grew unusual when she noticed Ami raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, I do. Why do you ask?" Ami was completely stunned.

Then the teenager saw Lita reach for her pocket and pull out two slips of paper. They appeared to be tickets.

"Then I want you to have these," Lita handed the tickets to Ami.

Ami's mouth was agape at this scene, while Luna neared her furry head closer to the window. She wanted to see just what was written on these mysterious papers.

"The principal gave them to me, but I'm not interested in watching people play chess for two hours." The brunette figured this would be how long a game of brains took.

Finally when Ami accepted and grabbed the tickets from Lita, she read what was listed on them.

Even from her distance, Luna couldn't quite describe the printed letters on Ami's new gifts.

After the ebony cat watched Ami and Lita's lips move after 5 more minutes, she noticed both teens head towards the cafe exit; and so she cat-walked towards Ami and stayed by her side.

"Oh, it's your cat again," Lita remarked at Luna's appearance.

The chocolate-haired girl left her eyes locked on Luna's ruby pupils until she saw the feline's crescent moon mark. In an instant, her head began to develop a small pain.

"Lita, are you all right?" Ami asked in a concerned tone.

"Yeah... I guess I just need some pain medicine," Lita responded as she was rubbing her head. "Well, I have a lot of homework to do, so I'll see you later, Ami.

Both Ami and Luna watched as Lita walked off while waving goodbye.

"Bye, Lita!" Ami returned the farewell with a warm smile on her face. It made her feel good to see that she had managed to cheer up Lita and restore hope inside her. But there were still some things she needed to think over.

Once she was out of their sight, Ami began to head west with Luna beside her.

"What did Lita say inside the cafe that made you react so surprised?" Luna asked her human friend.

"It was the strangest thing, Luna." Ami was aware of the reasons behind Lita's remark, but it remained odd to her. "She realized that I like chess, and I didn't even share that with her."

Now Luna could easily follow Ami's logic.

"Hmm... so she is starting to remember little bits of us. At this rate we should continue to meet up with her on a daily basis."

As they continued down the street, Ami thought this suggestion over. It seemed like the best thing for them to do.

Soon they made their way to the corner and waited patiently for the light to turn crimson.

"Shouldn't the others meet up with Lita also?" Ami pointed out.

"Yes. Once we're all together, I'll make sure to bring it up."

"Then it's settled."

As Ami concluded this topic, the street light finally turned bright red, and so the young adult and Luna promptly walked through the crosswalk.

"Oh, I almost forgot to ask..." mentioned Luna as she looked up at Ami. "Just what are those tickets that Lita gave you for?"

"Oh, these?" Ami ceased her walking to stoop down and let Luna read her slips.

After reading the entire passage, Luna came to a realization.

"A chess match between Herbert Eisely III and Tommy Butlers. Do you know these two, Ami?"

"Yeah. Herbert is a well-known chess player who goes undefeated, in all of Crossroads City. He's played chess ever since he was 5," Ami explained the background of this male individual." "And as for Tommy, I've never met him, but he must be related to Melvin in some way."

Luna couldn't help but imagine Tommy with the same exact face as Melvin; those same bottle-coke glasses never seemed to fade away.

A sweat drop formed on the female cat's head as she thought about this. Unknown to her, Ami had already figured the same thing.

**End of flashback**

**

* * *

**

Still luxuriating in her steamed bath, Ami held these chess admissions in her hand and stared at them worriedly. Obviously none of her friends would bother watching nerds move chess pieces for what could be 2-3 hours, so how would she get rid of the second ticket?

This remained on Ami's mind as she had finished her bath, gotten dressed, and prepared to sweep the kitchen floor. House cleaning was something the young genius would have to acquaint herself with, since her mother was always gone at work.

By now she had swept all of the floor's contents into the dustpan and poured it into the trashcan. Not much of anything else around the small apartment needed tidying.

Then suddenly a loud ring came from the telephone beside the living room couch.

Placing the broom in its usual spot, Ami paced towards the phone and grabbed it from its receiver.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Ami. It's me, Ash!" Even with his casual greeting, the Pokemon Trainer wasn't the one expected to be calling; usually Serena or Mina would be the one calling Ami about their plans for tonight.

But this didn't mean Ami was bothered.

"Oh, hi Ash. How are you and Pikachu doing?" Ami responded pleasantly.

Before answering this question, Ash couldn't help but think about Pikachu's rash behavior from earlier. It never escaped his mind since then; even when Serena dragged him and Molly along so they could all spy on Mina in the costume store.

"Ohh, me and Pikachu are doing great!" A fake smile appeared on Ash's face.

While the raven-haired boy was talking to Ami, his Pikachu lay asleep on the living room sofa. Meanwhile Serena and Molly were upstairs trying on their costumes.

While Ash remained on the phone, something important suddenly popped up in Ami's mind.

"Ash? There's something I wanna ask you."

"Sure, Ami. What's up?" Ash replied in a assuring tone. He trusted Ami to give him a question.

Meanwhile Ami felt nervous about asking. The words were right on her tongue, but she couldn't push it out; what if he said no?

Now their phone conversation became silent, and this started to weird Ash out.

"Umm...are you still there, Ami?"

"Yeah.. sorry about that," Ami responded in an uneasy tone.

"You sound worried about something. Is something wrong?" Ash spoke with a concerned voice.

Ami knew Ash was correct about this; but she couldn't shake off the doubts about his possible answer.

No... if she really wanted to know what he'd say, then she needed to be more brave about it. Ash wasn't like her friends; she couldn't put him in the same category as Serena and the others.

So finally Ami gathered up the confidence to ask him.

"Ash, there's these tickets I have and-"

"Hello? Ami? What are you still doing at your house? Have you picked a costume yet?"

Unfortunately Serena's high-pitched yet sweet words interrupted Ami's question. By now Serena and Molly were in their usual school uniforms since they tried their costumes; they were perfect sizes.

Ash gawked at how Serena deliberately rushed from upstairs and snatched the telephone from him.

Realizing her conversation was overtaken by the blond's voice, Ami let out a sigh and moved on with the current talk.

"I just finished taking a bath, and yes, I already chose something to wear for the costume party."

It couldn't hurt to change the subject because Ami still had chances to speak with Ash; still... she was so close and almost there with saying it to him.

"Well, what are you gonna be?" Serena asked curiously.

"I didn't have enough time to go shopping, so I'm going to use one of my mother's extra work uniforms."

A sweat drop formed on Serena's head when she heard this truthful answer.

"So you're going to be a doctor for Andrew's costume party?"

In a dumbfounded manner, Serena paraphrased Ami's response. She had to be kidding.

Molly and Ash looked over at Serena with worried expressions when they noticed her reaction.

"What'd she say she's gonna be, Serena?" Molly stepped from upstairs and joined the conversation.

It seemed Molly's friend wasn't listening to her. Molly heard what was happening, but she acted with disbelief. How was wearing your parent's work attire interesting?

"Its the only thing I could think of," Ami sounded a bit embarrassed after explaining this. "I'm sure it'll look as nice as everybody's else at the party."

With this said, Serena couldn't find any words to use against Ami's. If she felt her mother's work coat was 'costume party material', then power to it.

"OK," replied the defeated blond. "But don't blame me or Molly if you regret it later."

"I won't. And thanks for understanding, Serena."

Ami knew just how much of a fashion critic Serena could be. But at the same time Serena tried to respect any choice her friends made; it was what made her loved.

"Your welcome, Ami. Well, see ya at Andrew's place. Bye!"

"Bye, Serena!" Ami replied into her phone, then ended the call.

As she returned the phone into its usual place, Ami couldn't help but sigh again. If Serena got at her for wearing a simple doctor's coat, then just how far would the odango-haired teen go once she learned about Ami's chess tickets?

"So Ash. What did Ami want?" Serena asked Ash, watching him rise from the couch.

Both blond and Molly waited patiently for an answer.

Ash wasn't sure what his friends would think if he told them, but the young boy still wasn't sure himself about what exactly Ami had meant, so he decided to keep it hidden.

"Oh, she just wanted to check up on us. She already has her costume, so we're all ready to go."

And so Ash left the conversation at that.

* * *

After walking from different stores and shops, it had taken until sun set for Artemis and Luna to see how difficult their mission actually was.

"We've checked out 10 different costume stores. Either they're all sold out, or they just don't have anything in our size," complained Luna as they paced down the sidewalk. "At this point, I say we just go as cat's to the costume party and spy on the girls from outside."

Artemis couldn't deny how stealthy and witty him and Luna both were in their furry feline bodies. But part of him liked this idea of staying a anthropoid.

"Don't worry, Luna. There's still a section in this city that we haven't checked out. And besides... if we stay this way, we can get closer views of the girls and never get discovered."

After Artemis said these words, he noticed a shop 5 feet in front of them named 'Clarissa's Party Shack'. These letters were painted cursive violet on the window, and the inside walls of the shop were pitch black.

"See, Luna? There's a store right here," Artemis pointed with his index finger as they approached the building.

Luna followed her friend's directions and studied the costume's products. Sure, the design of the store title was pretty, but once Luna noticed the sizes of every costume, her eyes widened in utter shock.; Artemis couldn't say he didn't see these pint size outfits.

"All of those costumes are too small for us to wear!" Luna cried out.

With no more surprised words to give, Luna turned towards Artemis.

"Now what do you suggest we do, Artemis?" The ebony-haired woman made a frown.

It seemed that Luna's stern expression gave a little fright to Artemis. Once Luna became frustrated, pushing her buttons was a huge risk.

"I'm sure whoever works here can tell us where they sell costumes in our size," Artemis assured his best friend as a sweat drop formed on his head.

There wasn't much the long-haired man could say at this moment; but he still believed their plan was completely solid and bulletproof.

Along with Artemis, Luna continued to stare at through the costume shop's window, at the racks full of assorted children costumes. Any party store was totally better than 'Jeanine's Party Shack'.

Suddenly Artemis was the first to notice a young woman coming towards them from inside.

She was shorter than Artemis by 2 inches, and carried long frizzy auburn hair, teal eyes covered by clear reading glasses, and long violet fingernails. Her apparel consisted of a pink buttoned shirt, a magenta jean skirt that reached her ankles, and scarlet moccasins for her feet. Her name was Clarissa, and she appeared to be in her early twenties.

While making her way towards the store's front entrance, Clarissa happened to be reading a Vogue magazine.

When Luna finally heard the costume shop's door open, she along with Artemis wondered if Clarissa could be of some assistance to them; to their surprise, she stopped in front of them and parted her lips.

Simply noticing Artemis and Luna in front of the store gave Clarissa a sign to act.

"Can I help you folks with anything?" the older adult asked with her usual country accent.

Shortly after, Clarissa moved the magazine away from her face, then she placed her eyes first on Artemis. Even after the passing of few moments, Clarissa's gleaming eyes were still glued unto Artemis's; the warmth and pinkish blush of her cheeks couldn't be denied.

With a uneasy expression on his face, Artemis was fully aware of Clarissa's girlish behavior.

First Luna studied her friend's expression, but didn't find any abnormalities. So she moved her eyes towards Clarissa and saw the same infatuated look. Soon a irritated scowl crept along Luna's gorgeous face.

"Yes. We're here to look for costumes our size. Do you know where we can find any?" Luna folded her arms and looked sternly at Clarissa.

"Ohh, that's what ya'll are here for? Well come an' follow me! I think I have two extra costumes in the backroom," stated Clarissa.

With promptness, Luna started for Clarissa's shop entrance as Artemis followed.

Out of nowhere, Artemis could feel a slender arm touch and interlock with his, causing him to jump slightly.

Now everyone had passed the entrance door, and were following Clarissa's lead.

"And what's your name, sugah?" Clarissa spoke gently, leaving Artemis with nervousness.

Girls had never been a major or even minimal factor in his life, so dealing with gals like Clarissa wasn't Artemis's expertise. He wasn't sure if giving out his name was wisest to do.

"Uhhh..."

Artemis looked down at the persistent Clarissa sheepishly. Even from the corner of his eye, Artemis saw Luna look at him from his right and glare as they continued walking.

'Why's Luna glaring at me?" Artemis remained both innocent and clueless.

He'd have to give this question some thought if he wanted to know why Luna was behaving unlike herself.

It didn't help much, but Artemis looked back down at Clarissa; her facial expression was satisfied and cheery. The blush or gleam never vanished from her face.

'Could it be that she's...'

"Well, here's the room where I keep extra costumes," Clarissa's voice interrupted Artemis's thoughts.

* * *

**End of Act V**

**SonicxReiHino:*screen fades in from black* I'm gonna end it right there. I just wanna say thanks for all the reviews and feedback on this story. It has the most, but I'm still thankful.**

**Batthan: So now Artemis has a crush just like Ash has Mina? Talk about relationships!**

**SonicxReiHino:Yeah. I've been in the mood to add more comic relief in my writing. Do you have comments on anything else, Batthan?**

**Batthan: You know what? There is something I've been meaning to say. The costume party sure is gonna be good! I can't wait for it! *smiles***

**SonicxReiHino: Glad you think so. That's coming up soon. ^_^ *screen fades out to black***

* * *

**Now, before I continue onto chapter 8, I wanted to try a voting system of my own. This story isn't noticed that well, but its still favored by some.**

**Choose one name from each category and type it as a review. In the first category, it's merely choosing an animal. Now this will affect the next chapter, but I'm not gonna spoil it for anyone. (Just choose, alright? xD) As for the second category, it's kinda self explanatory, so I won't spoil that either. lol**

**_Mystery Animal_**

Swan

Snow Tiger

_**Mystery Music**_

"Simple and Clean" Remix by Utada Hikaru

"Party Started" by Pink

"Pon De Replay(Mr. Dj turn the music up)" by Rhianna

**The voting for this poll will run through today(10/15/10) and up until 10/20/10!**


	8. Scarlet Eyes and Trademark Ears

**So, for those of you who voted, here are the winning choices:**

**Mystery animal**

**Swan**

**Mystery Music**

**Simple and Clean Remix by Utada Hikaru**

**Now, soon you'll find out why I had you guys vote. Enjoy this chapter! ^_^**

**

* * *

****Sailormoon S: The Golden Heart : Act VI: Part I**

Clarissa's store back room was decorated in tan wallpaper, and it had a large tawny wardrobe against the north end of the room, with a door leading to a section of dressing rooms.

"Now you wait right here while I get the spare costumes," Clarissa neared her glossy eyes towards Artemis's and walked towards the closet while him and Luna stood in the middle of the area.

Shortly after Clarissa was out of earshot, Luna took these next few moments to speak.

"Just remember why we came here. Use your spare time to flirt with younger women."

Guilt entered Artemis when he noticed Luna's same frown and crossed arms. Now everything became more clear.

"Flirting? Luna, you've got it all wrong," Artemis pleaded for his self.

"Whatever. Either way it's not part of our mission. Just keep your hands to yourself."

And so Luna fully decided not to listen or even hear out her friend; she didn't care what girl he fooled around with.

Artemis could only let out a sigh and remain silent. One way or another Luna was going to keep her stubborn attitude. Besides that, it wasn't the best time for arguing; Luna and Artemis had girls to spy on.

Seconds later, Luna noticed Clarissa return with two foreign looking costumes, with headscarves and boots included. These ruffian-looking pirate outfits didn't please Luna at all, meanwhile Artemis was slightly taken aback.

"These are the last costumes I have left," Clarissa handed the items to her costumers.

There had to be something else for them to wear; even if they were sneaking into a costume party, these buccaneer clothes were designed for males.

"There has to be something else you have. This costume looks as though its for men," Luna studied her disguise as she held it in her hands.

"Well, unless you wanna look for a party store that'll charge ya'," Clarissa placed a hand on her waist.

Neither Artemis or Luna could believe what they just heard.

"You mean you're letting us have these costumes for free?" Luna responded.

"Might as well. I'm sure your friend here can think of a way to pay it back." Artemis noticed a smirk on Clarissa's lips, pointed at his face.

Mainly Luna didn't like the sound of this deal.

So in an instant, the human guardian snatched the pirate clothes from the store owner, followed by Artemis's arm, scaring him.

"We appreciate your offer, but we're in a hurry and don't have any more time to waste," a false smile appeared on Luna's mouth.

And with that conclusion, Luna rushed with Artemis and their apparel out of the costume shop.

* * *

By now the sky was mixed deep blues and violets, filled with twinkling stars like candies sprinkled on a layered cake; not to mention the huge luminous moon that held the most attention.

Teenagers and other young adults equipped in their party costumes had arrived in front of Andrew's house at seven o' clock sharp, either in their cars or by foot.

To be clearer, Andrew's home was actually a two-story mansion, colored in ivory and green bricks with tall glass windows; it belonged to his parents.

Before leaving on their anniversary trip, neither mother or father spoke of not having a costume party, so Andrew used that to his mere advantage.

The noise emitting from outside Andrew's place was upbeat techno music.

"So this is his house? It's so big!" exclaimed Chad as he got off the rear of Darien's motorcycle.

This bushy-haired man didn't mind his costume at all. Colored in a blue tunic with golden etched designs, crimson sleeves and tights, a auburn cape, and charcoal boots, he was a charming prince.

"Yep," responded Darien in his firefighter costume, getting off his vehicle. "But it actually belongs to his parents. He says their letting him stay until he gets his own place."

From the sidewalk, Chad and Darien saw thousands of civilians heading towards Andrew's front door. Had the arcade employee went ballistic and invited all of Crossroads teens?

"This Andrew guy sure has a lot of friends," Chad remarked as him and Darien began walking.

"You know how it is, Chad. One person invites two of their friends, then those people invite their friends. And it keeps going."

As both young men entered the group of costumed people, they scanned the area in hopes of locating their friends; but not a single person they recognized could be found.

"Hey Chad. Do you see Serena or the others around here?" Darien looked back at his pal.

"Nope," Chad answered while his eyes were still moving. "There's too many people here. Maybe they got inside before we did."

The Hikawa Trainee wanted his statement to be true, otherwise he'd put on this medieval costume for nothing. Chad spoke for himself when he decided making up with Rei was his main goal of this costume party.

When Chad and Darien finally approached the front door, they noticed its occupant standing beside it, in his working uniform.

"Hey Darien!" Andrew greeted his friend with a handshake.

"Hey, Andrew."

"Glad you could make it. And nice costume by the way," Andrew gave a thumbs up. "And who's this guy right here?"

While the dirty blond and Darien were sharing this conversation, individuals with human-based costumes stepped past them and through the door.

"This is Chad. He helps out with the Hikawa Shrine," Darien introduced the brunette.

"Ohh. Well nice to meet ya, Chad," Andrew stretched out his hand.

"Nice to meet you too," Chad accepted the offer and shook the older man's hand.

"So, when you walk inside, to your left is a DJ in the living room, and to the right is the kitchen if you want anything from the counter like drinks or finger foods. And the bathroom's upstairs, two doors down to the left."

"Thanks," responded Darien, as he entered the mansion with Chad behind him.

Inside the living room, most party guests were formed in their own cliques, while others were dancing. Furniture was pushed against the walls to add space. Meanwhile, standing on the upper level of the room with a music table in the west end of this room was the DJ, clothed as the wild yet memorable Tarzan, with shaggy hair and yellow attire. The same techno music being played was extending its hip tunes.

Darien continued searching through the gigantic area for what seemed like 3 minutes. And finally when he reached the northeast end of the room where a fancy picture was hanging on its wall, he noticed his gorgeous lover, dressed as a Hawaiian girl with a pink flower in her hair and tied petals around her neck, a bikini crafted from real brown-shelled fruit, and a grass skirt. Beside Serena were Molly, Ash, Pikachu, and Ami.

"Serena!" Darien called out.

"Huh?" Serena's conversation with Molly ended and she looked around for this call.

From her right, the odango-haired girl noticed her boyfriend dressed in bright red with Chad behind him and made a huge smile.

"Darien!"

Soon Darien and Chad made it towards the group and took a nice view at everyone's outfits. Ash had chosen to resemble a ninja with ebony pants and shirt, along with shadowy boots and a long dark ribbon tied around his head; luckily a size for Pikachu was available at the same costume shop. Molly's appearance was meant to resemble the distinctive character known as "Raggedy Anny", with her crimson hair strands topped by a crinkled ivory hat, bluish sleeved dress covered by a white apron, striped leggings and ebony boots. And as for Ami, her permanent costume was already learned about.

Soon Darien found his island-like sweetheart's arms around his neck.

While this was taking place, Chad walked past the couple and decided to start a discussion with Ami, Ash and Molly.

"I'm so happy you decided to come. What made you change your mind?"

Serena asked this because for the past few weeks, Darien was busy hunting for jobs and attending different interviews; this couldn't have progressed if his college didn't have its own winter break.

"While I was going to different job interviews, I didn't have much success, so I decided to come and see what this party would be like. Already I can tell you're enjoying it," Darien smiled down at his princess.

Every time their azure pupils locked onto each other, they shined with love and tenderness. Being at a party surrounded by millions of people didn't bother them.

"Well now that you're here I -"

Serena's soft tone was interrupted when she heard a familiar high-pitched and squeaky voice come from where her friends were standing. Darien hadn't wanted this passionate moment to die out, but it couldn't be helped, so he simply went after his girlfriend.

"Isn't this a just huge coincidence? Who'd think that the odds of our costume matching could be this high?"

Ami, Chad, and Ash with Pikachu in his arms steadily backed away from Molly when Melvin stood in front of her.

Judging by his statement, the geeky yet innocent male seemed overwhelmed; it had to a lot to do with the fact that his costume matched Raggedy Ann's partner, "Raggedy Andy"; not a detail missed.

Soon others around Melvin and Molly took sight of this. Even Darien was surprised and remained beside Serena while studying this interesting occurrence.

"Awwww, look you guys," said a girlish blond with red eyes and clothed as a house maid.

This pair of fictional rag dolls caught her attention greatly along with other party guests.

Molly felt the pressured embarrassment approaching once more and more teenagers gathered around her and Melvin.

"It's Raggedy Ann and Andy. Don't you think they look so cute together? Why didn't I think of being Ann for this party?"

After the costumed chef gave out those question, dozen other people sent their inputs.

"I could've fit that character, but then my boyfriend would probably say no."

"Well, that's what we get for not going to the mall early enough, right sweetie?"

"I'm SO going to ask my Robbie-poo to dress up as Andy for next time!"

She couldn't speak for Melvin, but these different voices in front of Molly pricked her nerves and caused her to grow angry. It was difficult to hold all of these sentences in her brain at one time. Not only was she humiliated for her chosen attire, but it was thanks to the obnoxious and nerdy Melvin. For her, this was a nightmare.

"SHUT UP, WILL YA?"

Molly's loud voice didn't overpower the room's music, but it half-way frightened her friends, including the chef girl and other guests who silenced themselves. Each of them including Pikachu gawked at this outrageous reaction with enlarged eyes.

Letting out an exhale of breath, Molly looked up and noticed the effects her yell had made; but she felt justified in doing so.

While the area kept noiseless, a sudden laughter emerged from in front of Molly. It was her best friend and only her pushing out this humored giggle. Everyone stared at Serena with odd expressions and wondered what her motive in cackling was.

"What's so funny?"

Molly couldn't take the unexplained response anymore; not if it were taking place right after her terrible embarrassment.

"Whaaat? I was just teasing, Molly. Take a chill pill," Serena responded with these words in a more sarcastic tone.

This reply stunned the Raggedy Ann-like girl and left her stupefied. She didn't expect Serena to retort with a phrase that she'd given to her while they were standing outside of their school, before picking up Ash.

Just Serena's words alone brought more irritation to Molly, as the girl was now clenching her fists and gritting her teeth.

Before she could verbally react, the techno song came to its end and somehow left the party at a pause. Worried faces turned to the DJ in hopes of a logical explanation.

"What song are you gonna play next?" asked a young man dressed as a cowboy.

"It's all taken care of, dude. The next song should be somewhere in this box I brought," replied the music coordinator as he began searching through a case of CD's.

Everyone in the room collapsed at the sound of this. This had to be some kind of mistake.

"Hey! If there's no music, then I'm outta here!" different guests spat out their own style of complaints.

"How long is it gonna take to find your song?"

"Now, now you guys." Everyone noticed Andrew standing in front of the DJ's table with his arms raised in utter assurance. "Please, just give our DJ five minutes and he should find the song."

With Andrew's honest guarantee, those who were fussing closed their mouths and returned to their original places. That was all they could do rather than get up and just leave.

"Are you sure this is the right place, Luna?"

Thanks to the multiple cars and teenagers outside, Artemis and his companion had reached Andrew's large home; it seemed like the perfect area for a party.

"It has to be," Luna responded, as her and Artemis began walking along the road leading to Andrew's front door. "Look at all these teenagers dressed up."

Artemis pondered on these words and studied the assorted party guests who were still on their way for the entrance. In some ways their outfits beat his and Luna's by appeal; Artemis realized this when he looked down at his pirate shirt. It wasn't his personal choice, but it would still benefit his and Luna's secret plan.

Serena and the gang used this time to finally taste the fruit punch and snacks from Andrew's kitchen.

After consuming his portion of drink and food, Darien finally got to meet the infamous Pikachu, as he noticed the yellow rodent perched on its trainer's right shoulder. It was an honor to meet Ash Ketchum for himself, and Darien got to learn different things about him: Ash's occupation in his home universe, more clarity about Pikachu's electrical and speech abilities, and why Trista had brought him into their world.

"Artemis! Over there by that fancy painting," informed Luna as her and Artemis found their targets.

The humanoid guardians were standing in the northwest corner of the living room by its cluttered bookshelf, watching Serena conversing with their allies.

"They're just talking." Artemis informed Luna, but suddenly a reminder flickered in his mind. "Wait! Two people are missing."

"Huh?"

Quickly Luna placed more focus in her stare at their friends. In the back of their minds, Luna and Artemis felt slight pain because there'd always be one individual left out: Lita. But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.

Finally Luna jumped a bit with apprehension.

"It seems as though you're right, Artemis. But where could Rei and Mina be? Didn't you say Mina was in on the whole idea of coming to this party?"

Before answering, Artemis placed his hand to his chin and started to think. He was sure about not mishearing Mina's earlier conversation with Serena about this costume get-together.

"Maybe they both changed their minds, or had the same costume issues as us."

While Darien's brief conversation with Ash carried on, Chad had his own with Serena and Ami.

"Yeah, I didn't expect this place actually be a mansion. But hey, have any of you seen Rei?"

"Rei?" Serena shifted her eyes towards Ami during this moment.

But unfortunately, neither the blue-haired girl, Ash, or Molly knew Rei's whereabouts.

"Hey! That's right. None of us saw her at all when we came in. Maybe she changed her mind?" Ash brought up this point of assumption. "Changed her mind...?"

Even if this phrase carried truth, Chad didn't want to think about it. He couldn't think of a reason WHY Rei would skip out on this huge event. Could she have missed out on finding a costume before they ran out?

"I see. Well, I hope you and Pikachu enjoy this universe. Even though yours sounds more interesting," Darien told his new friends.

"Thanks. So far me and Pikachu like it," Ash responded with a encouraged smile.

"Pika Pi," Pikachu took the same emotion.

After hearing enough, Chad's next steps were planned out.

"Darien. I'm gonna go to the temple and look for Rei."

"Huh? So she isn't here after all?" Darien was puzzled by Chad's instant situation.

"Serena and the others said they haven't seen her yet, so -"

Before Chad could finish his sentence, a loud outburst sounded from the entrance of the living room.

Everyone shifted their eyes towards a guy dressed in a spacesuit as he stared astonishingly at a new party guest, who had just entered and was standing in the area between living room and kitchen.

This young woman was dressed in a short ruffled yellow dress, a long pointed tail hooked onto the back of her clothing, silky tan leggings, elbow-length gloves, sun-colored boots without heels, and a hat topped with stylish black tipped ears. On both of her cheeks were red painted circles; although this didn't hide her actual identity in the least.

"Mina!" Serena exclaimed in awestruck, along with everyone else.

Mainly Ash and Pikachu were blown away by this new style of... Pokemon fashion.

"What the-?"

The Pokemon Trainer and his buddy couldn't find the right words to describe this unexpected scene. Pikachu wasn't sure where Mina got this imitation apparel from, but it completely freaked him out.

"Pikachu...?" a sweat drop emerged on his head, along with Serena, Ash, Molly, Darien, Chad, Luna, and Artemis.

Now Ami and Serena had learned just what caused Mina to behave so differently; her situation with the sewing machine.

Soon other teens near Mina stepped towards her and admired her sewn costume. They crowded around her as if she were a famous actress.

"What on earth is Mina wearing?" started Artemis in a bewildered tone.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The blond had gone too far this time, even if this were a dress-up party. Surely this was Mina's plan of winning Ash.

"She's become even more ditsy than Serena..." added Luna.

This wasn't the way things usually were. Mina's flirtatious side appeared occasionally, but she never acted bubble-headed like Serena.

"Where did you get your costume from?" a girl dressed as a flight attendant asked Mina.

Other people began pouring comments onto her.

"Did you go to a different city to buy that?"

"Forget my Raggedy Ann idea! I'm gonna see what my Robbie-poo thinks of this animal costume!"

Rather than be impressed by Mina's costume, her friends along with Chad remained wordless and dumbfounded.

"Well... Mina sure did put a lot of time into her costume," Serena thought out loud with a sheepish tone.

"She's tryin' too hard to win Ash over if ya' ask me," added Molly.

In a bothered voice, Molly brought out this point as it was already and visibly known. Darien and Chad turned their eyes towards Molly as they were confused about this whole situation. Ash didn't want to put any more thought into it.

Before Darien could find any words to give, Chad spoke before him. He expected his friends to be more supportive towards Mina.

"You guys are kidding, right? She looks like Pikachu! Something like that takes creativity! Uhh... guys?"

Chad stopped his brief opinion while scratching his head confusedly as he noticed his friends lying on the ground after falling; the costumed prince would have a better understanding if he knew Mina's reasons for dressing like Pikachu, and how it really affected the mouse Pokemon.

"Ash."

Nervously, Ash turned towards Serena as she called his name. It was as if the tiniest of happenings could bring a sudden mayhem.

Before talking, Serena placed a hand to Ash's right shoulder regardless of Pikachu, while Molly placed hers on his left.

"Mina's never gone this far for a guy she likes," Serena's tone grew serious.

While gluing their faces on Molly and Serena, Ash and Pikachu took heed in listening to all of their friends' words.

"Hmph. Even I wouldn't go this far," came in Molly with her usual New York accent.

As Ash begun to gaze over at the surrounded Mina, along with everyone else, that's when he realized this issue with Mina was actually going to worsen. Her first behaviors towards him weren't so...effective... but now the sapphire-eyed teen was improving her techniques; Ash would have to take the possibilities of Mina's actions more seriously.

"You mean... I'm the first guy?" Ash gulped with fear.

Serena and Molly nodded their heads in mute response.

Poor Ash couldn't understand why this was happening to him. The young adventurer wouldn't mind introducing Mina to someone more interested like Brock; that Pokemon Breeder would definitely take up the offer.

Before either Ash or Pikachu knew it, Mina had trailed over and was now standing in front of them.

"Hey! Looks like everyone made it to the party. Do you all like my costume?" Mina gave a light giggle.

Neither of her friends' were sure on what to say exactly. Chad was the most puzzled, while Ash couldn't get over his nostalgic feeling.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhh..."

Pikachu noticed the uneasiness in his trainer's voice and the way Ash was scratching his head, so it shifted a pair of angry chocolate eyes at Mina.

It was at that point Mina's expression became solemn and she returned a glance to the annoyed rodent; She'd learned her lesson from earlier, but didn't accept into giving in.

"Well, I'll just get your answer later," Mina concluded with a fake grin.

"Alright, folks! I found the song that I was looking for. Get ready to party the rest of the night on!"

Soon everyone's faces lit with excitement, and a loud series of cheers filled the entire mansion as the DJ programmed his music to begin. It was a popular song titled, "Simple and Clean Remix" by the singer Utada Hikaru.

As the lyrical song opened its catchy tunes, guests scattered to find a dancing partner. Obviously Serena chose Darien, which left her friends without partners. But Ami and Molly didn't mind.

"Molly? Why don't we dance together since we look alike?" Melvin appeared from out of nowhere.

"In your dreams, Melvin!" Molly barked at the copied Raggedy Andy and began to leave the group while muttering angrily.

Now it was only Ami, Chad, and Ash left.

Chad couldn't but look over at Ami with the awkwardness that was taking over, and the fact that she was the only female.

"Well.. I-I'm gonna go look for Rei and see if she's at her house."

"Alright, then. Good luck!" replied Ami, watching Chad step through the crowd of partying teens.

Even in his universe, Ash wasn't experienced with events like these, where dancing skills were needed. He could tell Ami were in the same boat when he looked over at her and noticed her expression; she didn't seem to be having any fun in the slightest. Was she forced to this party?

And so Ash formulated a plan to suggest for him and Ami.

"Hey, Ami, I -"

"Ohhhh, can I borrow your pet to show my peeps?"

A girl disguised as a jet black and white mime snatched Pikachu right from Ash's shoulder and jogged off with him.

"Pika Pika?" Pikachu looked up at its kidnapper then back at Ash.

Ami and Ash could only let out shocked gasps at this unexpected rudeness; being at a party shouldn't have justified their action.

"I promise to give him back soon!"

In defeat, Ash sighed while preparing to head after his small buddy. But suddenly a familiar figure stepped in front of him.

"Do you know how to dance?" It was Mina.

Ami wasn't sure where her blond friend was going with this; Andrew's party seemed like a large benefit inside Mina's plan of achieving Ash's golden heart. But like it was mentioned before, a new Mina had taken control of the older version; that had to be the case.

As Mina waited to hear a response and Ash remained nervous, Ami stayed in her spot and watched this quietness carry on. She'd be up to checking on Pikachu for Ash's sake, but at the same time, she didn't want to leave him alone while he was blocked by the lovesick Mina.

From where they stood, Luna desperately wanted to go over there and fuss at the young adults, but Artemis had talked her into remaining hidden. Without their physical arrival, most likely more things could be revealed.

"I'm sure he doesn't, but you can let me take it from here."

From behind Mina, Ash, and Ami came a girl with a light sophisticated voice, whose height was exact to Serena's. Her costume for the party was meant to resemble that of a lovely swan: a strapless fluffy snow dress that reached barely above her knees, large feathery wings connected to her upper back, a plastic darkish orange beak across her nose, black face paint to match a swan's appearance, white tights for her legs, and footwear that copied orange duck feet.

The next set of features on this mysterious girl were her blood-colored eyes, and pink waist-length hair.

"Look! It's another girl dressed as an animal!"

Like before, dozen people who begun dancing including Ash and his friends stared at this new party guest with amazement and wonder.

The mysterious girl's cheeks flushed red when she noticed all the attention she was receiving, then she looked back to Ash.

Whoever this girl was, Mina slowly gritted her teeth as she wasn't pleased with this new competition. Surely looking into his eyes would make Ash think twice on this new invitation.

Ami along with Serena and Darien who were still dancing grew anxious as to who the Pokemon Trainer would choose.

They both looked nice, but this wasn't the full point to Ash. He just wanted to get his best friend back.

"Don't worry. I'm not loopy like she is," the mysterious girl referred to Mina in a honest tone.

Quickly Mina heard this statement and her teeth grinding increased, followed by a peeved groan and crossed arms. It irritated her to be judged from a complete stranger.

Still Ash remained quiet, but he was startled as he noticed the mysterious girl gave him a eye wink and friendly smile.

The redness on Ash's face shown on its own.

And before anyone saw it coming, the mysterious girl's hand was extended towards Ash.

He looked over at Ami for possible help with this minor crisis; also because he'd feel terrible for leaving her alone when she already wasn't partying like everyone else.

"Don't worry about me, Ash. It's your chance to finally have fun at this party."

With hesitance but Ami's endless smile, Ash accepted by stretching out his arm and following the mysterious girl.

As he turned around and left Ami's side, Ash couldn't help but think of how she were feeling at this moment in time. He'd find a a way to make it up to her.

Artemis knew Mina wouldn't end her attempts now. No matter what, him and Luna would have to keep their eyes on her and the others.

Mina was frozen still; her most creative and thoughtful idea had gone to waste, thanks to a girl with another creature-like outfit.

* * *

**End of Act VI: Part I**

**SonicxReiHino: *screen fades in from black* Well, the chapter everyone was waiting for. I'll just say that I was excited too.**

**Batthan: I like everyone's costumes. But where are Lita and the others? Why is Rei at home?**

**SonicxReiHino: Come on, Batthan...we've been over this lots of times. Time will tell everything. But I just hope this chapter was enjoyable. Picking out costume ideas was the greatest.**

**Batthan: Oh, and by the way! I did like how you showed the choices that we had to vote for. But now my mind's on that mysterious girl.**

**SonicxReiHino: Well, you know how that goes...**

**Batthan: Yeah. I'll be waiting, like your other readers.**

**SonicxReiHino: Until next time on this story! *screen fades into black***


	9. Fateful Beginnings and Clouded Memories

**Sailormoon S: The Golden Heart : Act VI: Part II**

Maybe now Lola could finally have her chance at nabbing a Pure Heart Crystal without interruptions from the annoying Sailor Team. Her choice of a Daimon was better than last time, and now Lola had developed a more witty plan.

Dressed in a black t-shirt, crimson mini-skirt, knee-length white boots with shoe strings, gold knuckles on her fingers, and a raven black hair wig with lemon-colored streaks, Lola was a female rock star.

Along with her to raid the costume party was her special Daimon clothed as a pop-star singer. She carried lavender skin, beautiful golden eyes, finely arched eyebrows, and straight white hair that passed her back. Her costume featured a short blue ruffled dress, fluffy pink items on her shoulders, fishnet stockings, and boots resembling Lola's but ebony.

Both of these women were ready to bring heat to their newly made enemies. Lola had a feeling Sailor Pluto and her little allies came to this party.

"Alright, Claireoke. You go and take over the music while I go find our target," Lola ordered as she and her minion stood by the living room's entrance.

"You got it!" Claireoke gave a thumbs up and winked at Lola, then headed through people towards the DJ's table. "Hm."

As the music-type Daimon moved away from her, an evil grin formed on Lola's face and she began thinking about her latest plan. Soon she'd get to prove the stuck-up Eugeal wrong and possibly receive a paycheck from the Professor.

With her last failure, the teen had received nothing for her efforts. Annihilating Sailor Moon and her friends in the process wasn't harsh if it gave Lola money.

Suddenly Lola noticed Claireoke begin to raise an object in her hand and prepare to whack the innocent DJ; it was a shiny golden microphone, formed from an unknown material. But it must've been created with a tough substance if it were in Claireoke's possession.

And before anyone bothered to notice, the party's music coordinator had been powerfully whacked in the skull and landed to the floor unconscious.

"There. Now it's time I give our party guests a wonderful time," Claireoke presumed with a sweet tone.

Lola laughed at the DJ's downfall, then suddenly felt a firm touch against her right shoulder, causing her to jump a bit. The Death Buster didn't remember acquainting with anyone at this party; so who could this mysterious hand belong to?

"Hey. I've never seen you're face before. Do you live around here?"

The mood in this voice was curious and gentle; once Lola turned fully around and saw his face, her cheeks instantly flushed with pink. Something important that brought Lola hesitance entered her mind. This guy was cute without a doubt, but he was also the captive for her and Claireoke's plans; it was Andrew.

"Uhhhh... yeah! I l-live a-around here," Lola answered with a nervous tone.

The fact that Lola was growing infatuated with him when it was his heart crystal desired began to bloat inside her mind. Why couldn't it be a guy who were less attractive?

"Oh. Well, I love your costume by the way. You're supposed to be a rock star?"

"Y-y-yeah... and you?"

The redness of Lola's cheeks never faded away while she began fidgeting with her fingers. She felt like she were in the middle of something.

"Well actually, I didn't buy a costume, so I'm just wearing these work clothes. You could say I'm a video arcade guy."

While Andrew explained this, Lola was busy looking over at Claireoke. The Daimon didn't have much to do except wait for her leader's signal.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't want to dress up this year."

Lola finally returned her sight to Andrew after this next remark. She was still battling the opposing thoughts inside her mind on how to handle this situation with Andrew's heart crystal.

"Since my parents never said I couldn't throw anything while they're away, I decided to have this costume party since everyone's on winter break. It's so cool to watch people in different costumes... everyone's choices are so varied. You never know what someone might decide to look like."

The entire time, it seemed like Lola was merely watching his lips move with a blank expression and not hearing what was coming out of them; a memory of hers began enveloping itself in her mind.

* * *

**Flashback**

It took place when she was in her room, talking to her rivaled cousin on the phone. While still unemployed, Eugeal decided to check up on her younger relative and hopefully learn bad news.

"Soo, Lola. Have you actually completed the mission for the Professor, or was this first try of yours a failure?"

Before answering this question, Lola smirked and became confident in herself. She figured at least she had a job position and not Eugeal.

"Sorry, Eugeal, but that day your talking about doesn't count."

"And why not?" Eugeal responded curiously with a small grin.

"Because, the Professor's granted me a Daimon that's 99 percent sure to get the job done."

"Hmm. Ninety-nine percent, huh? Well don't get so high-spirited, Lola. Everyone knows that with my technology, I'd be a better employee than you. It won't be long before the Professor decides to hire me after firing you."

"Oh, whatever, Eugeal! I don't need any of your stupid gadgets to finish the task. Everything I need is already with me."

Eugeal couldn't help but react amused by this remark.

"Like what?" Lola's cousin really wanted to hear what was going to be said.

"Stealth, Power, and Charm!"

"Ha! I'd like to see you show one of those factors at your next karate tournament."

"Why you-!" And that flash of anger from Lola was one of the remaining words she gave to Eugeal.

**End of Flashback**

**

* * *

**

By the time her flashback had ended, Lola didn't hear Andrew carrying on with his explanation.

"Hey. Are you alright?" Andrew called Lola's attention as he noticed she was spacing out.

Lola shifted her green eyes towards Andrew's once she heard his voice. It was more concerned, but still had that same hint of care within it; in a short amount of time, Lola realized this was one of the factors she liked about Andrew. But she didn't feel destined or possible with becoming his girlfriend. And soon she found out what she was in between: her job and her romance life. Either one seemed important, but in the end being a Death Buster contained more weight because it meant getting paid, getting revenge on the Sailor Scouts, and most of all... finally teaching Eugeal a vaulable lesson; that she could excel farther than her at handling a job.

So instead of receiving an answer, Andrew found Lola's arms wrapping around his neck, and in an instant her lips interlocked with his.

Andrew's eyes widened with total surprise while Lola's eyelids were already closed. None of this made any sense, but his lips against a girl's felt pleasant; Andrew held onto this quick moment, also confusion as to why Lola did this in the first place.

"W-wait!" Andrew pleaded as he watched Lola run away from him and towards the front door.

Once the young man reached outside, there wasn't a single person in view.

"Huh? Where'd she go?"

When they shared such a tender but random moment, Lola had to disappear. Now Andrew desperately wanted to know exactly who this great kisser was.

"Guess she had to go home early," Andrew scratched his head and returned inside his house.

When the coast was clear, Lola crawled from out of a nearby green bush and headed back towards Andrew's home entrance.

As idiotic as it seemed, the azure-haired girl didn't want to risk being seen again by Andrew; if she wanted to continue meeting up with him, then eventually she'd have to share her evil career with Andrew, but now she wasn't at all ready. So the young woman stripped off her costume and wig, revealing her original clothing and indigo hair.

Entering through the front door, Lola didn't notice Andrew; he could have went anywhere in the huge mansion of his father's.

Truly Lola didn't expect him to disappear so abruptly, but there was important business that needed mending to.

Oblivious to the party guests, Lola walked up to Claireoke and whispered some things into her ear. After receiving every word, Claireoke gave a short nod, then Lola decided to make a stop into Andrew's kitchen for snacks and drink; hopefully it'd help keep her energized for the upcoming battle with the sailor scouts.

* * *

With Mina having disappeared, Artemis and Luna kept their sights on their remaining comrades. Ami with Pikachu now in her arms was busy watching the mysterious girl dance with Ash while Serena and Darien still kept themselves moving to the "Simple and Clean Remix".

Sure Ami guaranteed Ash about being fine by herself, but now too much time had passed. Soon Ami began to think just why she'd came to this costume party in the first place. Well first of all, she wanted to hang out with her friends. It'd be the same if she declined and stayed at home on this cold night. And second, the female genius was convinced that she'd have a great time in chatting with Serena and the others. But now those thoughts began to slip away.

If Ami had in fact told Ash not to follow the mysterious girl, then his fun would be tossed away. So Ami only meant to be kind in the situation and make sure Ash enjoyed himself. Surely that's what Trista would hope for the same thing since she was the individual who brought him to their world.

Thanks to his abrupt dance partner, Ash was given assurance to mimic the same dancing techniques as her. The mysterious girl right away spotted his lack of dance, but it didn't bother her; from what she saw Mina attempting, Ash needed a break from the persistent blond.

"Are you having fun?" the mysterious girl hollered over the loud playing music.

"Yeah," Ash replied with the same volume.

Deep in his mind, Ash couldn't let go of Ami's loneliness; getting up and dancing with a stranger was totally incorrect, even if Ami didn't mind it.

As the dance pair continued their moves, Ash took his eyes off the mysterious girl and noticed another walking through room. She appeared to be dressed up as a Japanese geisha, with her beautiful green kimono, hair accessories, and white face makeup. It was mostly her beauty that stunned Ash and made him grow curious. But as a main factor, it was those forest-green eyes of hers; the Pokemon Trainer felt like he'd seen them from an earlier time.

"Hey. What's wrong?" the mysterious girl noticed Ash's weird staring; Ami and Pikachu also took notice of this odd behavior.

"H-huh? Oh, sorry. There's something I need to take care of."

After explaining this, Ash promptly walked away from his dancing partner, causing her to gasp in confusion.

"Wait!" the mysterious girl extended her arm in a pleading manner, but realized it was too late. Still she got to have some fun at this party.

Meanwhile Ami and Pikachu started after Ash, who ended up in the backyard of Andrew's giant home. It contained a large rectangular pool; this had to be at least 10 feet deep and 18 feet wide.

Beside that was a patio with two chairs, the same teen disguised as a geisha sitting in one of them. Ash didn't hesitate to walk up to her. However this caused the jade-eyed teen to become confused of his appearance.

"Can I help you with something?" the costumed geisha began in a flat tone.

From the doorway, Amy nor Pikachu could hear this two-way discussion. It boggled mostly Ami as to why Ash would decide to suddenly talk to this girl. Then Ami looked closely at the structure of her painted face. Even with distance in between them, Ami could easily remember who those pair of emerald pupils belonged to; it was none other than Lita.

"Lita..." Ami muttered under her breath.

Pikachu took sound of this and looked up at the blue-haired teenager. Her facial expression looked stunned.

"Pika?" the brown-striped rodent wondered about Ami's true emotions behind her reaction. It hadn't yet saw through Lita's pasty makeup.

With the dispute inside of the apartment building, Ash felt nervous for confronting Lita once more. Although he didn't notice her real identity either, but approached her for a different reason.

"Uhhh... it's just that you look like someone I know."

The fact that Ash hadn't seen through her face paint baffled Lita completely. From her point of view, she thought Ash to be just a crazy boy with a weird looking animal for a pet; someone who'd been associated with Michelle and Amara. These two women were no longer classified as Lita's friends, so Ash fell into the same category.

At the moment, Lita was still deciding on how to react to Ash's response. Hopefully the young boy wouldn't discuss anything along the lines of "pure hearts" and "sailor scouts".

"I know why you came after me. Just tell Amara and the others to find another sailor scout." Lita told Ash.

"No, you've got it all wrong. That wasn't why I came out here." Ash guaranteed the brunette.

He knew Lita's amnesia hadn't all disappeared, but it worried Ash to see Lita being avoided. His plan was to merely talk with her more and become her friend. Then when she did finally regain her memories, she'd already know about him and Pikachu.

"Then why did you come?" Lita followed Ash's words, noticing him take the chair beside her and sit.

"When Amara and Michelle first introduced us, we got off to a pretty bad start. So I thought maybe we could start all over again. Doesn't that sound like a good idea to you?"

Before answering, Lita had to think about what Ash said just now. He'd been the only one to come back, and returned to acknowledge a crisis that he didn't start. After it all, Lita didn't expect anyone to return after their argument in front of her door. Hearing the kind-hearted Ash decide to form a truce astonished Lita. A small voice inside of her mind began to say, ' he's just tricking you into joining their team'.

What her strict principal from school had mentioned became a factor. Was this what the school official had meant by making friends? When they insisted of doing so, even after being affiliated with those who upset you? Being that Ami was Lita's acquaintance so far, these questions couldn't be helped but pondered on.

When Lita thought about it, she had no real dislike towards Ash. She was only frustrated with Amara's remarks, causing her to find Ash and Pikachu's appearances to be strange and hideous.

Suddenly noticing a warm smile grow on Ash's lips, which began to tune out the sound of the tiny voice from Lita's head. It seemed to good to be true for her life to turn around this fast, and thanks to a very caring boy. Taking Ash's offer looked like the best thing to do, but at the same time her trust for him wasn't fully developed.

So as Lita returned a friendly smile and parted her lips to speak, a series of yells instantly bellowed from inside Andrew's house.

"Huh?" Lita and Ash looked towards the big house and quickly jogged towards it.

The "Simple and Clean" Remix had been turned off by Claireoke, who was now tampering with the many light bulbs inside the living room, constantly switching them on and off, with electric sparks flying across the room; Claireoke had caused this by shooting electricity from her fingertips. Party guests headed straight for the front door.

"W-what's going on?" cried Andrew, standing beside the door.

And before he knew it, a stranger had yanked him by the arm and dragged him to the music table.

"Tie him up," Lola ordered her minion, throwing Andrew to the ground.

"OK."

Claireoke put down her arms and reached for some wired connected to the DJ's music equipment and wrapped Andrew in it, making dozen knots.

With multiple teenagers leaving the room, Ash, Ami, Serena, and Darien were able to re-cooperate, Lita remaining by the backdoor to view this scene. Meanwhile Artemis followed Luna outside the front yard in order to formulate a plan.

"Do you really think they can handle this on their own? The last monster got them pretty good. Trista, Amara, and Michelle had to come rescue them," Artemis explained to his ally.

Luna understood this all completely, but still wanted the heroes to pass this dangerous test. In the long run it'd improve their fighting skills.

"Well, we just have to hope for the best. This is what they were meant to do."

Artemis begun to ponder on this. This WAS the destiny of the Sailor Scouts, no matter how brutal or trivial. Then he remembered a missing scout; Mina was still no where to be found.

"Luna... that reminds me. I'm gonna go and look for Mina while you watch the girls fight," Artemis turned away from Luna and ran off.

"A-artemis! Wait!" Luna beckoned to the snow-haired male, but it became no use since he continued running.

Most likely Mina was at her house, so Luna didn't see reason for Artemis to go after her; then again, maybe this was actually for the best. As a mentor, it was Artemis's responsibility and job to set Mina straight and help her overcome different issues. So Luna hoped that things would go well between them with their latest drama. In the meantime, she had to watch outside through the window how her friends were progressing.

Watching from the room in between living room and kitchen, the mysterious girl appeared indecisive. There had to be a way of helping defeat Lola and Claireoke, but if she decided to, then her identity would be revealed.

Then suddenly the mysterious girl let out a confident smile and placed her hands on her chest.

'There's no way they can win. I have faith in Sailor Moon.'

"Who are you and why are you doing this? Andrew begged for an answer.

This question did make sense, which was why it slapped Lola directly in the face. Even she wasn't still certain if this were a good idea, but her reputation depended on it.

"Don't worry about it. Now just sit there and be a good little boy," Claireoke laid Andrew on the ground and patted his cheek before walking away to stand beside Lola.

Both girls were staring directly at their foes who were lined up. From left to right the order went, Ash and Pikachu, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Moon, and Tuxedo Mask. All of their expressions were serious; Ash kept his hand near his pocket in case of needing an extra Pokemon, meanwhile Tuxedo Mask held his black stick as if it were a sword.

Lola could only grin with succession on her mind.

"So, there's more of you annoying Sailor Scouts, huh? And you've brought someone in a lousy tuxedo and handsome(Ash) with you. That doesn't change my plans at all."

From their last encounter, Sailor Moon still held some anger. Today she would teach Lola a huge lesson.

So the pigtailed heroine took a step forward and pointed a finger at Lola.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing up again! You have no right of crashing Andrew's party and getting away with it. My friends and I will make you pay!"

Next Sailor Moon formed her usual heroic pose with her arms and fingers.

"I'm Sailor Moon!"

Then her allies joined in to give their verbal lines.

"I'm Sailor Mercury, here to help bring you to justice!"

"And I am Tuxedo Mask!"

"And in the name of the moon..." Sailor Moon declared. "We will punish you!" Ash joined in this part with Sailor Moon.

"Pika-chu!"

The most Lola could do at this point was let out a yawn after all the words her opponents gave. She grew tired of hearing the same speeches over and over.

"Yeah, yeah. We get it. Now, I wanna introduce you all to your challenger, Claireoke (Claire+Karaoke). I wouldn't underestimate her if I were you. She can have you losers all electrocuted within seconds. So I suggest you just surrender and hand over that Poke Ball."

Lola's eyes were aimed directly at Ash's. He'd forgotten that he said the name of this spherical device out loud; that was a huge mistake.

The Pokemon Trainer's friends all turned their eyes to him and wondered what Lola would want his Poke Ball for; but Ash wasn't going to back down so easily.

"Or what?" A smirk came to the raven-haired preteen's lips.

"Should we really show them what happens if they don't obey us?" Claireoke snickered and looked over at Lola.

"Be my guest," Lola replied.

The Death Buster had to keep her villainous face on in front of everyone, regardless of her feelings.

Sailor Moon and her team mates noticed Claireoke grab a person from behind the DJ's music table. The hugest issue was that they all recognized his eye color and hair.

"Andrew!" Serena exclaimed in shock.

The poor man was tied up in thousands of cords and wires, being held up to his feet by Claireoke. She could sent shock waves through his body at any moment.

Now Ash began to grit his teeth when realizing this threat of Lola's. Bringing out hostages was always downright cold and harsh.

"So do you get it now, handsome? My boss is interested in that ball of yours, and he wants to do a lot of research on it. But if you say no, then I'll just have Claireoke fry this guy right here. The choice is yours."

As tough and cool as Lola felt she sounded, it was her ultimate desire for Ash to hand over his Poke Ball because in honesty she didn't want Andrew to die; it was a mere blackmail with a target that she felt iffy on keeping.

Lola turned her eyes towards Andrew and studied his expression. He was so afraid and confused; scared of death and trembling in his adult body. In her heart, Lola didn't seem like a bad guy anymore. Proving Eugeal wrong was this important to her, at least that's how she felt. Ash finally handing her one of his Poke Balls wasn't to difficult to picture in her mind.

"Ash. Give her one of your Poke Balls, and then I'm sure we can get it back later!" Sailor Moon pleaded.

"But Sailor Moon! Who knows what they'll do once they get their hands on it? It's like a trap almost," Tuxedo Mask explained to his beloved.

Ash pulled out one of his Poke Balls, but held it in his hand and stared down at it. Losing one Pokemon almost felt like he were losing a portion of himself; and that would tear his heart apart. Thinking about Andrew's life being at stake only frustrated him more; why did things have to result this way?

Pikachu along with Mercury noticed Ash's hand shaking. He didn't know what options to choose. This was all too much for him to dwell on.

'Come on, you idiot! Just gimme the stupid thing!'

Lola couldn't bare to witness her minion hurting Andrew. She wanted this ordeal to end quickly.

After everything she'd told Artemis, doubts entered Luna's mind and she had to remain calm.

'I didn't expect the battle to turn out this way. If Ash gives up one of his Pokemon, then that could mean real danger. But then Andrew's life is at stake, which is also not good. Please... let there be an escape route for them to take," Luna clasped her hands together and prayed silently.

* * *

**End of Act VI: Part II**

**SonicxReiHino: *screen fades in from black* I hope everyone enjoyed reading about the costume party. This idea was greatly liked. lol  
**

**Batthan: Yeah, it was awesome! So now Lola's got it for Andrew?  
**

**SonicxReiHino: Yeah. To be honest, I don't know why I planned the story that way. But it creates drama.  
**

**Batthan: I feel sorry for Ash. What's he gonna do?  
**

**SonicxReiHino: Hopefully not the wrong thing. ^_^ Until next time on this story! *screen fades into black***


	10. Dazzling Hearts and Puzzling Words

**Sailormoon S: The Golden Heart : Act VI: Part III**

The silent and tense moments remained as Ash held onto his Poke Ball. Then the Pokemon Trainer looked over to Claireoke's hostage; Andrew could tell that Ash didn't want to hand over his possession. It must've carried some type of high value in order for Ash to behave so hesitantly. Still, the blond-haired man just wanted a plan of escape to appear. Witnessing Claireoke shoot electricity from her hands terribly scared him.

After staring for passing moments, Ash gazed back down at his Poke Ball, then placed his sight on Lola.

"...what will your boss do when he gets his hands on this?"

With a sudden grin on her lips, surprised and glad for this question, Lola began to calm down and less frustrated with Andrew's possible demise. Had this cruel idea of hers been so easy to use?

"Pikachu!" Ash's minirature Pokemon spoke in a pleading tone.

"Ash..." Sailor Mercury muttered under her breath.

The azure sailor scout and her allies grew afraid of their comrade's motive behind this question. Even they remained unsure of which choice to make, but in the end they couldn't bare to see one of Ash's Pokemon suffer because of it. This was what Sailor Moon had requested him to do, but she had to think about its ending results.

As of now, the pigtailed heroine could feel her brain developing a small pain; this entire threat of Lola's was absolutely complicated.

"What all professors do when studying something," Lola answered with a flat tone.

Neither Ash or the rest of his team mates felt uncomfortable with this response. With his intelligence of concocting Daimons, surely Professor Tomoe was capable of doing something drastic with Ash's Poke Ball.

For the next few minutes, Ash was mute. He'd became more hesitant to give up his Poke Ball, but then Andrew's victimization barreled into his mind and clashed with his first thoughts. This time called for Trista's help.

'Trista... where are you?'

From beside the back entrance to the pool, Lita had been watching the entire scene. What caused the brunette to grow angry was seeing Ash by Sailor Moon and Mercury; she'd heard them give their usual heroic lines. Lita didn't understand why Ash guaranteed that he wasn't approaching her to talk about sailor soldiers, if now she saw him teamed up with them.

A hint of betrayal had entered her heart, the trust and belief in Ash had died, and that peeved expression and clenched fist of hers never disappeared. Just when Lita had felt like her life was entering a new chapter with Ash's friendship, now things began to head into a tragic direction.

"Well? Handsome? Are you gonna give me your Poke Ball or what?" Lola asked in an impatient tone with her hand out, expecting the colored device to be placed in her palm.

"I have what you're looking for!" this womanly voice rang out.

Everyone including Andrew quickly turned their heads to notice a costumed individual standing in between them with her arms behind her back, and something covered by a brown cloth in her grasp.

Only Ash, Pikachu, and Sailor Mercury were able to fully recognize this swan-like female.

'It's that same girl I danced with,' Ash remarked to himself, wondering along with the others why she appeared and just what the mysterious girl meant by her statement.

Fortunately for her, Lola believed her words and became excited.

"Claireoke. Go and get the Poke Ball from that girl."

And so in a rough manner, Claireoke threw Andrew towards the floor and followed her given orders, but the innocent victim found himself being caught by Lola before hitting the ground.

The minute Andrew fell against Lola, a red line of blush came to her face, then she untied him from the ropes and watched him stand up.

"Andrew..." murmured Sailor Moon as she and Tuxedo Mask noticed the villain's act of care.

Something felt unusual about this scene which the couple had witnessed, now watching Andrew stare confusedly at Lola then run out of the living room.

Lola wasn't expecting him to run away, but it seemed she was acting naive. Being evil was her title, and she couldn't render anything about that.

Yet, in the back of her mind, Lola was at ease with being able to know that Andrew would be fine. Besides, with this new discovery of the Poke Ball, most likely the Professor wouldn't complain if she brought something instead of a Pure Heart.

So Lola returned to being serious rather than hung up on Andrew's disappearance, facing towards Claireoke and watching.

After standing before the mysterious girl for 2 minutes, Claireoke started questioning her.

"Where is the Poke Ball?"

"It's right here," the mysterious girl answered with a mere smile, beginning to slowly move the hidden object from behind her back towards the musical Daimon.

Anticipation with tenseness started building up. Lola could already feel her plan resulting as successful. Ash held the slightest feeling of what the mysterious girl's motives were; he wondered what exactly lay under that cloth in her hands.

Claireoke waited patiently for the Poke Ball to be revealed.

Seconds after the item was now in front of the Daimon, she noticed how many more seconds the mysterious girl was purposefully taking; Lola couldn't help but grow suspicious.

Then in a quicker manner, the cloth was removed, and soon the truth was uncovered.

"Huh? This is a Poke Ball?"

Claireoke was stumped and couldn't seem to figure it out.

As soon as this occurred, the mysterious girl had left the room.

Lola noticed this sudden departure, then decided to see what Claireoke was holding.

'A good plan, but I should've known it wasn't a real Poke Ball,' Ash thought in his mind.

Realizing his thoughts were true, a sweat drop formed on Ash's head, along with his friends, including Lola. Obviously Ash could be the only person with Poke Balls since he'd came from a differentiated universe. Why didn't he grasp this factor sooner?

In her dumbfounded state, Claireoke progressed with staring at the orange sphere, oblivious to its real purpose; the mysterious girl had gathered a simple tangerine and wash rag from Andrew's kitchen while Lola was explaining her threat to Sailor Moon.

"That isn't a real Poke Ball, you idiot!" Lola yelled with anger.

Claireoke looked back at her leader with a look of wonder, then instantly realized that she'd been easily fooled. However when she returned her eyes to confront the mysterious girl, no one was there.

"Sailor Moon. Use this opportunity to destroy her," Tuxedo Mask hurried with this order.

He was fully grateful for the mysterious girl's plans of tricking their enemies. Now Ash wasn't at a crossroad with giving up his Pokemon or seeing Andrew get hurt.

"Right," Sailor Moon gave a short nod and held out her arms, then before her appeared her Spiral Heart Moon Rod, landing into her gloved hands.

As the introduction of the sequence began, Sailor Moon spun at a very fast rate, her long hair flowing with the motion. Next she paused her spinning and held her magical wand above her head, then as she yelled out her attack, Sailor Moon knelt down and returned to twirling faster than before.

"MOON... SPIRAL... HEART... ATTACK!"

Dozens of bright pink hearts along with sparkles of glitter emerged from Sailor Moon's gorgeous weapon and swayed in a clockwise manner, aiming straight for Claireoke with immense power.

Lola wasn't afraid of seeing her Daimon be obliterated by Sailor Moon's attack. Her foes felt confident in gaining victory over Claireoke.

"Huh?"

Claireoke managed to notice this attack that was being sent at her and leaped upward to dodge the spiraled blast. When she did this, Lola ended up having to jump out of the way for her life because Sailor Moon's blow ended up destroying the DJ's music table, leaving every object into smithereens.

She could do nothing but hold a hand to her mouth and gasp at this situation. Her team mates were stunned completely by this turnout of events.

"No way...!" Tuxedo Mask exclaimed in disbelief.

There was never time where Sailor Moon's Moon Spiral Heart Attack had failed. Tuxedo Mask could feel something worse and unusual about this new creature of Lola's.

In hopes of vanquishing their enemy, Sailor Moon had destroyed someone else's property. If it were accidental didn't save her from the harsh guilt she felt.

Without thinking, Sailor Moon allowed her Moon Rod to be released from her grasp and fall to the carpeted ground, while bulged eyes part of her shocked expression. The Tarzan copier didn't deserve his party equipment demolished. If possible, Sailor Moon wouldn't have aimed for it; the only answer that could be produced was she hadn't acted quick enough.

Soon Claireoke landed to her feet, capturing everyone's attention.

Yet Sailor Moon kept her head down, catching worried looks from her friends. She felt total dismay in herself, and further anger towards her enemies. Their entire night had been ruined, and now Serena was held responsible for recovering someone's music supplies. Their time spent during the party had been extremely fun with the DJ bringing out his musical tools.

Now thanks to the same and annoying Lola, everything had to be ruined.

"Phew! Two more seconds and I would've been dead." Claireoke mended to straightening out her dress then placing some of her ivory hair strands behind her ears.

Lola stepped from where she was and stopped by Claireoke's side, alarming their opponents; by now Sailor Moon finally lifted her head up.

With a smirk already planted on her face, Lola then placed a hand to her hip and moved her jade-green eyes towards a particular foe.

"So, Sailor Moon. You weren't expecting Claireoke to avoid your silly attack? I told you that she's not the one to underestimate. Now I'm interested to see how you'll do against me."

Sailor Moon along with her allies weren't sure how Lola would proceed, but they noticed the Death Buster raise her fists to complete her battle stance; the polish on her golden knuckles let off a bright shine.

Tuxedo Mask along with Sailor Mercury, Ash, and Pikachu felt taken aback because they were willing to aid Sailor Moon. Truly Lola was interested by Sailor Moon's used technique, and felt secure with Claireoke challenging four of their enemies; besides the fact that to Lola, compared to her Sailor Moon was weak.

Serena wasn't planning on taking place in a one-on-one duel, but she felt whatever it took to win. Physical combat wasn't her best or most performed trait, but the sailor scout contained some endurance.

"Fine then. But we fight outside," Sailor Moon's expression turned serious. Tuxedo Mask including his comrades looked over at Sailor Moon and thought about why the blond heroine decided this. Possibly she would need some assistance, but Tuxedo Mask sensed her determination.

"Alright then. Claireoke. You take care of the other losers," ordered Lola as she followed Sailor Moon towards the back door.

"Sure. It's about time things get more interesting," Claireoke replied with an evil smirk as she made her way towards Sailor Moon's allies.

Meanwhile from behind the room intersecting between living room and kitchen, Andrew with the mysterious girl by his side were watching this entire scene.

"You should probably go some place far away from here. Things are about to get ugly if you know what I mean," the mysterious girl warned Andrew.

He knew this point was true, but Andrew couldn't bare to leave this defenseless female by herself with all of the fighting occurring.

"You should leave too. Aren't you the least bit afraid of all this?" the arcade employee grew worried at the mysterious girl's sudden brave attitude.

She couldn't have been a super hero like Sailor Moon and the others; this is how Andrew felt about the situation.

"No."

That responsive word alone brought interest to Andrew because of the calm tone which the mysterious girl was carrying while she gazed at Ash and the other present heroes.

"I'm not afraid of any of it, because I know that in the end Sailor Moon and her friends will win. When that happens, I wanna be around to see it," the mysterious girl continued as she never shifted her crimson pupils.

Before replying, Andrew pondered on this explanation while staring at her. In his life, he'd never met a lot of girls who carried this much confidence and faith in others like the girl next to him in her swan costume. Then he realized that deep down, he also wanted to see these new evils terminated; besides, they'd appeared unexpectedly and ruined his fabulous party.

And so the chosen battles started.

"Pikachu! Use a Quick Attack!"

"Pikaa!" the furred Pokemon obeyed its trainer and ran full speed towards Claireoke.

As simple as this tactic looked, Pikachu's opponent revealed her golden microphone and held it in front of her like it were a shield of some type. When Pikachu's head made contact with it, multiple sparks flew from it, forming a collision between the yellow mouse and Claireoke.

"Is this the best your little pet can do?" Claireoke made a short laugh while questioning Ash.

While the bright electric streaks continued, Sailor Mercury pressed her azure earring, causing a pair of transparent cerulean goggles to position on her face. With this colored vision, familiar numbers and other symbols appeared, the digits rising in size, while a green barrier imaged from around the outside of Claireoke's microphone.

"All of Claireoke's power is inside that microphone, which is why she can use it to protect herself. We need to find out how to take it from her," Sailor Mercury explained briefly to Tuxedo Mask, as they both studied Claireoke's musical device.

Soon Pikachu dropped to the ground and glared upward at its foe; Already it learned that rush attacks would end in futile, giving Ash more options. Their fight had barely commenced, and this wasn't the first time that Ash dealt with individuals who thought of him to give up.

"You haven't seen nothing yet, lady," Ash clenched his fist and raised it while a confident grin showed on his lips.

**

* * *

**

After constant running, Chad had finally reached his destination. The Trainee Shinto Priest stopped to catch his breath at the top of the Hikawa Temple's staircase; this lasted for about 5 minutes.

Then Chad walked towards the front door to his home, sliding the door open and entering its lengthy hallway. Without light or candles, the entire area looked to be pitch-black, however Rei's room was still remembered.

Inside of her room, Rei stood intently before her body-length mirror, identifying her entire body. Her costume that the priestess had chosen was made to resemble a infamous superhuman named Wonder Woman. Her scarlet top contained streaks of gold running along its upper area, the bottoms were dark blue and had three bright stars on their front, directly above Rei's hips was a pointed gold belt, wristbands formed on silver on both of her arms, pearl star-shaped earrings, a shiny tiara on her head with a crimson star designed in its middle, and finally red knee-length boots with ivory stripes going down their middle.

Rei was sure her friends would have complimented her for this wonderful outfit, and she loved it, but her grandpa declared that she couldn't go to the costume party because the priest wanted her to have enough sleep for her working shift tomorrow.

"I manage to find a great costume, and for what?" Rei crossed her arms while a slight frown appeared on her face. "Grandpa's taking it too far this time.. huh?"

Rei shortened her sentence as she heard three polite knocks coming from her door. Most likely this was her grandpa coming in to hurry her off to bed; the sooner Rei paid back money for her room damages.

"Chad. What are you doing here?" Rei asked in a surprised tone.

It was seconds before Chad gathered the strength to answer; especially with Rei's new appearance. He gawked at every detail to the priestess's costume. Her perfected hips, slender arms, bare shoulders and legs, and hint of shirt cleavage. This sort of clothing was very unusual for Rei to wear, however Chad seemed to already love it on her body.

Both Rei and Chad decided to sit on the bed while talking.

"I-I went to Andrew's party thinking you'd be there. But Serena and Ami said they didn't see you walk in, so I decided to come back here and look for you."

After hearing this, Rei could feel the skin under her eyes develop warmth along with a reddish hue.

"What would you wanna see me for?" Rei replied, while her blush stayed amongst her face.

Chad had some difficulty from his cheeks turning scarlet. He was once again showing care towards Rei, which this time astonished her because Chad possibly could have stayed longer at the costume party and enjoyed himself.

"Because.. I.. wanted to apologize for the other night," Chad looked away while saying this, with an arm behind his head.

Then Rei thought back to yesterday evening when her and Chad had argued. Looking back at it now, the whole topic was stupid. Chad wasn't oblivious to Rei having no choice but to get a job, but still the Shinto Trainee thought he could save Rei from it. He'd be punished if Rei's grandpa were to find out about it.

"It's alright Chad. Don't worry about it," Rei assured a tiny smile. "Now, you should be heading back to Andrew's house. I'll see you later."

"Well..." Chad began to scratch his head. "Didn't you still wanna go?"

"No. Grandpa says he wants me to have enough energy for tomorrow, so I'm expected to be in bed," Rei explained as a hint of sadness was discovered in her voice.

Chad wasn't sure if he could agree or comply with these words. Mr. Hino had brought enough hardness towards Rei with this Crown Fruit Parlor job. Chad figured that she deserved something nice and relaxing like a party. Inside of his heart, Chad was getting tired of seeing the girl he cared for most be tattered with punishment after punishment.

At the moment, Mr. Hino was sleeping; this was something that Chad was glad about.

Out of nowhere, Rei gasped as she found Chad's hands grasping hers in a pleading manner. When she looked up towards his face, Chad's indigo eyes were revealed even through his thick bangs. They were filled with calmness and determination.

"Rei... you deserve to go to Andrew's party. So far you're doing great with your job. You've realized your mistakes."

Hearing the seriousness in Chad's tone made her feel speechless. Rei couldn't take her violet pupils away from his eyes. This was his first time ever behaving this way. There were no signs of hesitance or nervousness whatsoever. It was in his heart that he see Rei able to attend the party.

"Everyone expected you there. You shouldn't sit here alone in the dark when you bought a costume. Nobody knows the next time Andrew will throw another party."

Just wondering about her pals made Rei more willing to join Chad. He couldn't have been joking around if he ran all the way from Andrew's mansion only to see Rei. It seemed that was how important she was.

As Rei pondered on this, she finally decided in her mind what to do.

So the Wonder Woman copier moved her hands from Chad's, rose from the mattress, then began for the door.

"OK then. Well what are we waiting for?"

Then Chad got up from his seating and followed Rei as she slid the door open. Now he felt as though he'd accomplished something big. It was his desire to always see Rei joyful and not depressed. Chad felt secure about her grandfather remaining in a long, peaceful sleep. Therefore he became grateful for choosing to search for Rei.

After seconds of quietly stepping through the hallway, Rei and Chad approached the front door, soon walking down the cement walkway and towards the Hikawa Shrine Gate.

* * *

With Sailor Mercury's formulated plan, her, Tuxedo Mask, Ash, and Pikachu would be able to snatch Claireoke's microphone. Without her electronic weapon, Claireoke would surely die.

"MERCURY BUBBLES..." Ami moved her hands together as an orb of special cerulean light formed in between them. It pulsated with the energy Sailor Mercury placed into it. The ice soldier turned around in a full circle while holding the special attack, then extended her arms to release it's magical after effects. "BLAST!"

A series of clear bubbles and hazy mist took over the entire living room, fogging up Claireoke's sight.

"What the-? How did she make all of this fog appear?"

Claireoke tried her best to walk around and look for Sailor Mercury and the others, but the area was too clouded for her to catch any sign of their faces.

"Grrrrrrr!" The Daimon shook her fists and formed a scowl on her beautiful face. "Why don't one of you idiots come out and fight like the heroes you call yourselves?"

Silence remained after Claireoke sent out this question.

Everywhere the villain looked around was icy fog; not a single silhouette or outline of a person's figure in view.

Claireoke began to feel suspense crawling up her spine. At any moment, one of her foes could appear and whack her in the head. Being that she could defend only herself upset Claireoke, but she had to keep up her confidence of fighting more than one individual.

In an instant, a dark shape resembling Pikachu appeared before Claireoke.

"Aha! Thought I wouldn't find the little rat? Well think again, losers!"

Shortly after this was spoken, Claireoke extended her arms, the microphone still in her right hand, and shot a blast of electricity at the shadowed Pikachu. However the small figure vanished before Claireoke's sparks touched it.

"Huh?"

Her attack failing seemed too good to be true, so Claireoke ran towards the spot where her target was, and once again felt a presence standing to her right.

"Take this!"

After releasing this second attack, Claireoke's attempts on shocking Pikachu moved further and continued on. She found herself turning in every direction possible, noticing silhouette's of the mouse Pokemon and throwing streaks of lightning at them.

Claireoke wasn't sure as to how much more she could take. It felt as though she were participating in a game of tag.

Each time she noticed another shadow of her opponent, more frustration was towering inside of her body, leading Claireoke into gritting her teeth together and flames appearing inside of her golden pupils.

As Claireoke decided to cease her attempts and push out a furious yell, a pair of hands grabbed her arms, keeping her in a tough bondage.

"Huh? What are you doing? Let me go!" Claireoke demanded, squirming to break free from her the mysterious clutches.

"Now, Pikachu!" Ash's voice rang through Sailor Mercury's fog.

Claireoke had finally learned the reasons behind this room's shrouded mist and wondered where Pikachu would appear from. Maybe the womanly Daimon had in fact talked more boastful than she could success in finishing her mission. Yet there was still a factor that gave Claireoke the upper hand.

"PIKAAAAAA... CHUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

This high-pitched voice grew louder as Pikachu was leaping towards Claireoke with bright electricity streaming from his cheeks.

Before his attack made precise contact, the mysterious captor had let Claireoke's arms go, then with not enough time to dodge, Claireoke took in Pikachu's damage and screamed in agonizing pain.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Without noticing, Claireoke's gold microphone had fell out of her hands and towards the ground while she was suffering from Pikachu's thunderbolt. Then the musical Daimon herself dropped to the ground, losing consciousness.

The snowy fog eventually vanished, and Pikachu along with his team mates noticed their accomplishment laying on the floor.

"You did it, Pikachu! Now we have her microphone!" Ash exclaimed with gladness as he picked up his friend and gave an embrace and laughed with him.

"Pi-ka-chu!" Pikachu smiled back at his owner.

Meanwhile Tuxedo Mask watched Sailor Mercury pace towards Claireoke's microphone.

"Without this her strength should disappear."

Mercury stated this and knelt down to grab the microphone, but suddenly released a yelp and moved her hand back when touching its surface.

"Mercury!" Tuxedo Mask exclaimed as him, Ash, and Pikachu rushed to her side, standing on her left and right.

They all noticed smoke coming from Ami clutching to her left hand. It appeared to have a minor injury.

"What happened to your hand?" spoke Ash while Pikachu sat on his right shoulder.

Sailor Mercury got up from the carpet before responding, still holding her damaged hand.

"For some reason I can't touch her microphone. It sent electricity into my palm when I did so."

"Well, didn't you figure that when you examined it through your Mercury goggles?" asked Tuxedo Mask.

Ash saw the logic in this given point and also waited for Sailor Mercury's response.

"I picked up a strong barrier around it, but I thought that was only to keep it from being destroyed."

While this was being explained, Claireoke was slowly lifting her eyelids. She noticed her challengers two feet away from her, talking about her special possession, so the creature didn't hesitate in picking herself up from the ground.

"So what do we do with it?" questioned Ash.

"We definitely can't let it fall into her hands again," Tuxedo Mask brought up this point.

Everyone nodded at this and agreed, then felt Claireoke's presence and faced her.

"I'd back away from that microphone if I were you. It's rude to touch someone else's property," Claireoke explained as she slowly walked towards the heroes.

But then she stopped in her tracks and became frozen by the amount of courage and determination she saw. All of her foes were standing in fighting stances to block her way from retrieving her weapon.

"Sorry, lady, but we know all about your little microphone now. Without it, you can't fight at all," Ash retorted with arms crossed and a grin on his lips.

"Pika Pika."

"Surrender now or you'll have to face more of our wrath," Sailor Mercury expressed this threat.

"The game is over. You don't stand a chance against us now," Tuxedo Mask gave his input.

Dumbstruck at this, Claireoke couldn't believe what she was experiencing now. There were no words for her to give. It shamed her for others to see where her true strength was. At this rate, she would lose.

Claireoke gulped and hoped for a miracle. Frowning, the evil minion bent her head down and clenched her fist as if she were prepared to respond. Her idea of getting her microphone back wasn't excellent, but it was all she could think of.

Ash and his friends awaited to hear Claireoke's reaction, finally seeing her lift her head up and look at them.

"Could you just give it back to me?"

Claireoke stooped to her knees and cried while begging, greatly startling her opponents.

"I promise that I won't cause anymore trouble! That microphone means a lot to me. If you let me take it, I'll leave! Please, just let me get it back..." Claireoke finished her pleading with streaming tears to prove it.

Watching someone cry wasn't desired, but Sailor Mercury and her comrades weren't going to act naive; finally they'd achieved the upper hand with this battle, so they weren't going to let it fall so easily.

Claireoke thought of her plan as bullet-proof, but after 10 seconds didn't notice a change or hear a response.

"You... you guys are so cruel!"

"MOON... SPIRAL... HEART... ATTACK!"

As this familiar battle cry was shouted out, Claireoke turned around to find those same lovely hearts coming towards her.

With golden microphone in hand, Claireoke didn't have the speed or quickness to evade.

"MUSICAL KARAOKE!"

These last words from Lola's minion echoed as she disappeared and changed into a seed, followed by opening and letting free a dark eerie spirit.

After watching Claireoke's demise, Tuxedo Mask and the other heroes found a soaked Sailor Moon trying to keep herself up by leaning against the backyard's opening, holding her mystical wand. Signs of scratches and bruises were located all over her face.

"Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Mask, Ash, and Sailor Mercury exclaimed with shock.

Before Serena could fall from exhaustion, Tuxedo Mask rushed to her side and helped her from the wall, helping her to sit on one of the couches that was pushed against the wall.

While Mercury, Pikachu and Ash stood up, Tuxedo Mask sat by Sailor Moon on the piece of furniture.

"Sailor Moon. What happened to that girl you were fighting?" asked Tuxedo Mask.

"She was beating me up pretty good, but before she could lay another kick on me, Lita appeared and kicked her in the stomach," Sailor Moon thought back to how she'd felt during those moments; surprise and relief. "I wasn't sure how to react when I saw it was Lita. Before I could say anything, she told me to do my best to stay alive, then she started walking away."

By the tone in Sailor Moon's voice, the girl sounded puzzled. If things were different, she'd embrace Lita and tell her how much she missed her best friend. But she could only stand still. Yet, it calmed her down a bit to hear Lita speak to her. Maybe the thunder scout did need some time to just regain her memories by herself.

Tuxedo Mask and others tried their best to figure out Lita's words.

"Do your best to stay alive? Hm. I wonder why Lita would say something like that," Sailor Mercury thought out loud.

"The only thing that comes to mind is Rini's existence," guessed Darien, receiving stares from his allies.

"But what would make Lita say something like that?" Ash questioned Tuxedo Mask's assumption.

"Rini could be one of the people that Lita's starting to remember," Sailor Mercury replied.

Sailor Moon didn't see any explanation behind this, but she knew Ami was very intelligent. As long as Lita was retrieving bits of them was all that mattered in the end.

"In the midst of it all, you should be wondering how your going to replace Andrew's music set."

Mainly Sailor Moon and the others shifted their eyes to where this familiar voice was emerging from.

Behind them stood Luna, now in her feline and usual form.

* * *

**End of Act VI: Part III**

**SonicxReiHino: *screen fades in from black* For this chapter, it could have been longer, but I think this was a good enough ending place. Plus I love cliffhangers. lol  
**

**Batthan: I liked Andrew's party even though Lola and her goon crashed it. Just think what's gonna happen if his parents ever find out about his music set. xD  
**

**SonicxReiHino: So far I like how each Inner Sailor has their own situation: Rei has to work, Lita's amnesia, Mina's trying to win Ash, Ami's situation with the chess tickets... it's just what I was going for too ^_^  
**

**Batthan: So what about Mina? She just up and left from the party?  
**

**SonicxReiHino: Yeah. Later on, you'll see what she's up to. Until next time on this story! *screen fades into black***


	11. Quiet Encounters and Rain Drops

**Sailormoon S: The Golden Heart : Act VII: Part I**

Luna's appearance was completely unexpected. No one could push a word from their mouth. They all figured that she came most likely because of Lola's arrival with her Daimon and only that. Otherwise the female cat was keeping a sharp eye on them.

Sailor Moon acknowledged Luna's earlier response, then lowered her head. In the end, breaking Andrew's party equipment was still her doing, even if she were busy fighting against evil. This night had chosen a direction that Serena didn't plan on going in.

"I know that you have a lot of bravery and courage, but that still doesn't make up for your fighting skills. We should have another sailor business meeting and discuss your strategy of attack instead of partying the entire winter break," Luna added her opinion.

"Luna, I hear what you're saying, but right now my head feels crammed," Sailor Moon replied in a stressful tone.

With Lita's sudden appearance and departure, Andrew's destroyed property, and what Luna had said combined, bringing Serena mental affliction. For one night, she had experienced a lot of factors, meanwhile Luna was remaining serious and not attempting to comfort her. She realized that her mentor was correct about needing to improve herself, which only brought more shame and disappointment in herself.

Ash and the others kept silent and thought about what Serena's reply to Luna; this was her first time they'd ever witnessed her in such a mishap. They couldn't think of anything to do but watch Luna continue giving advice.

"Well, Serena, dealing with more than one situation at the same time is something that you're going to have to learn."

Right after this was explained, Luna sensed an unusual yet recognizable energy standing by the living room entrance. The ebony cat merely diverted her red-orange eyes to this individual and called them forth.

"You, from the living room entrance. Come and stand over here."

Andrew along with Sailor Moon and the gang were startled by this sudden request, noticing the mysterious girl step into the room and stand in between them and Luna.

Without further ado, Luna closed her eyes as the crescent mark on her forehead began to glow; at the same time, a fuchsia light started to illuminate around the mysterious girl's entire body, giving off a bright shine against every object and wall in the room.

Sailor Moon along with her friends and Andrew remained in awe as their eyes were placed solely on the mysterious girl, her neon shine reflecting against their pupils.

For her, this strange rose light engulfing her body felt warm. And before the mysterious girl knew it, her radiance intensified, blinding everyone in the room.

She could feel her body shrinking while the clothes on her body melted away. During this transformation, her original height, hair length, and body structure was restored, along with her former school uniform and shoes.

Once the neon brilliance disappeared, Serena's Luna Pen dropped to the floor in front of the mysterious girl who was clothed as an elegant swan no longer existed. Learning of their true identity brought extreme bafflement and perplexity to everyone.

The person who stood before everyone was least expected to arrive, let alone disguise them self in a costume.

'Rini was the girl who I danced with...?' Ash couldn't figure this out.

He along with Pikachu and Ami wondered how the pigtailed child was able to perform a stunt such as this, and also why she'd decide to join Andrew's party and dance with him. Just thinking about sharing a dance with Rini made Ash feel awkward.

"I knew I felt a familiar presence in this room," Luna started her words. "Rini. What makes you think that you can just steal the Luna Pen and use it like it's some toy, and WITHOUT permission?"

Moments after Luna was finished with her question, Rini stayed unresponsive, trembling emotionally with fear while staring at the charcoal feline with a despaired expression. The young girl knew just how much nonsense lay in nabbing Serena's Luna Pen; there wasn't anywhere for her to toss the sheer guilt.

As their future-daughter, Darien and Serena were the most taken aback, and half-way appalled by her actions; this was never like Rini in the slightest.

"Rini... why...? Why did you do it?" Serena begged in a disheartened tone.

Everyone with their view on Rini stayed mute as they awaited for her explanation. Since it were the rose-haired girl, surely there had to be a passable reason.

With the pressure being topped on her, tears were on the verge of seeping from Rini's glazed eyes. Clenching her fists and shutting her eyes didn't seem to help the stress be pushed away, as she couldn't hold the action of crying back. Whether Rini favored it or not, she'd have to explain herself.

"Because I wanted to, that's why!" Finally the water drops trailed from her pupils down to her cheeks when Rini opened her eyes. "You and the others always leave me out when something exciting shows up. Even in a conversation that I'm aware about, you treat me like I'm not allowed. I think that with all the time I've spent here, I'm ready to do more stuff. I know that I'm still in elementary school, but that shouldn't rate my maturity level. I'm just tired of feeling left out..."

After this was explained, Rini's sobs continued on. What she had spoken was understandable, however personal and quite selfish.

From behind the living room wall near his stairs, Andrew had listened to this entire scene and became puzzled; none of what happened made sense to him because he'd never heard of Sailor Moon or a Luna Pen. Seeing Rini transform from a teenager was odd enough to take place in a dream.

"Luna Pen... Rini turning into someone else? I think I've been eating too many of those finger snacks," Andrew scratched his head and began to walk upstairs to his bedroom.

Serena declined greatly in wanting to see Rini cry. The sailor scout couldn't gather words to say. She along with her team mates noticed Luna standing motionless, not attempting to cheer up Rini. The day had already darkened, and Serena disliked how Luna wasn't thinking of Rini's positives.

The angered girl did her best to rise from the couch and stand up. Tuxedo Mask also rose to watch in case she fell.

"Luna. How can you be so cruel to her like that? Can't you at least acknowledge the fact Rini saved Andrew's life?"

It could be told that Sailor Moon was defending Rini without thinking deep about the Luna Pen. To her the device wasn't of huge importance as of now.

"Of course I didn't forget about that. But that doesn't justify her action of stealing the Luna Pen. By her taking it, she put herself in a huge risk. I don't know how you feel about her reasons for stealing the Luna Pen, but to me its just a bunch of nonsense. If Rini wants to be mature, she needs to learn how to ask for things before touching them."

There wasn't any false logic in this brief response to remove Serena's input or erase Rini's guilt. Meanwhile Tuxedo Mask, Ash, and Sailor Mercury in their mind admitted Luna to be the winner of this discussion. What they were dealing with was a simple case of an adolescent who was placing themselves on a higher stair and proclaiming their self mature than they are.

* * *

All in all, Andrew's party had lasted for three hours. Around ten o' clock, Ami would have definitely entered her room and sleep, but she thought her and the gang's time at the costume party would be splendid; just thinking about their end results made Ami sigh and feel terrible. She would have put a stop to Rini's plans if she knew the sweet child was tampering with Serena's Luna Pen, and so would have the others. But suspicion of Rini was far from being approached. Trista would be shocked to hear about the Small Lady's behavior.

With Darien's firefighter jacket slipped over her bare shoulders, Serena with her friends paced down the sidewalk while passing through Crossroads downtown. Pikachu especially wanted to sit inside of Ash's backpack. With Ash walking on Serena's left, Ami stood on her right with Luna in front of them. At this time no one felt like talking.

Least expected to our friends was Rei and Chad, who'd finally made it into the vicinity after about 26 minutes.

"Hey. Look Rei!" Chad alerted by pointing with his finger.

Quickly Rei moved her sight to where her friend was pointing, and was first affected with surprise. She and Chad didn't expect to bump into them so soon; let alone witness Luna pacing by herself, some feet in front.

"Luna!" Rei shouted, with Chad power-walking beside her.

Being that Luna was walking in front of everyone, Rei and Chad gave looks to their friends and noticed depressive and glum expressions. Both Rei and Chad became alarmed, growing curious about the ending of their night out. From what Chad experienced, the party was going exceptionally well, but now things had taken an opposite turn.

Seeing only Luna without a negative face befuddled Rei.

"Chad. You go talk to them. I'm gonna pick up Luna and carry her," Rei told him.

"Sure."

And so while Chad stepped past Luna, Rei waited until the cat was close to pick her up from the ground; Luna didn't seem to mind this in the slightest.

"Luna. What's with the looks on everyone's faces?" Rei asked in a concerned tone.

"If you don't mind, can we talk about this tomorrow, when you're not at work? Right now I'm not in the mood of discussing it. I'll make sure to contact you around your job break," Luna explained with a serious tone.

Rei nodded her head in response, but felt afraid. Whatever her friends did, Luna was very well not pleased; extremely disappointed for that matter. Only more anxiety built inside of Rei as to how the costume party really occurred.

* * *

Artemis finally made it to his destination, and now he'd have to change back into a feline to climb through the bedroom window.

As the Moon Guardian landed on the carpeted floor, he looked to his right and saw Mina asleep. She was sitting in front of her desk, using its wooden surface to comfort her head onto her slender arms.

When Artemis leaped unto the office desk, he noticed an open phone book laying beside Mina's arm. It was opened to the category where facilities beginning with the letter "S" derived. Artemis wasn't sure why the young girl would search through a phone book, but now the important task to do was helping Mina to her bed.

So after switching to his human state, then lifting her bed sheets, Artemis gently picked up Mina and placed her on her mattress.

His eyes were locked on hers the entire time he placed the blankets over her body and tucked her into them. Artemis was glad that he found Mina in her room, peacefully sleep. She'd never understand how much worry she gave Artemis; seeing as earlier she declared to solve all of her issues on her own. But now those words couldn't be referred to.

In his feline body, Artemis found himself lying at the foot of Mina's bed, eventually drifting into a gentle slumber.

* * *

With the time now ten thirty at night, neither Ash or Pikachu could sleep, so instead they waited for Trista's return while sitting on her sofa. She was using the bathroom, meanwhile hot chocolate was busy heating up on the kitchen stove in a silver pot.

Ash noticed Trista returning to her spot on the couch beside him and Pikachu. She was clothed in an ebony robe with slippers.

While staying up, Ash decided to share his point of view at Andrew's costume party to Trista, up until they discovered Rini and watched Luna criticizing her. Trista was shocked to hear about Lita's appearance, mainly Rini's actions, but she didn't react in a upset manner. After explaining the story to her, Ash felt as though a great load were lifted from his shoulders, yet he still felt stressed out from it; the Pokemon Trainer hadn't expected to see Luna with pure strictness.

"So Ash, how do you feel about all of it?" Trista asked.

"Well... I wasn't expecting to see Luna act so mean towards Rini, or how Serena lashed out at her. And then there's the thing about Rini. Out of everyone, she surprised me the most," Ash responded in dispirited tone.

For someone who was visiting, Ash along with Pikachu would always feel the most overwhelmed by any drama. Luna's and Serena's behaviors inside of Andrew's house were unexpected, hard to believe even. If things always happened this way became a question in Ash's mind. And as for Rini, Ash could never figure her motives out; for a child, Rini was crafty.

"Here. I'll go check on our hot chocolate," Trista told Ash, rising from her seat.

When she entered the kitchen and stood over the stove, steam exerted from the boiling hot chocolate. Therefore Trista turned its fire off, then grabbed two coffee mugs from her upper cabinet and poured the dark liquid into each cup, heat still rising from inside of them.

During this time was when Trista remembered about Pikachu. Ash had made sure to bring food for his rodent pal, but Trista wasn't quite sure if Pikachu could drink hot chocolate. So when she returned to her living room, Trista requested that Ash get something Poke Snacks, similar to cookies, from his traveling pack and give it to Pikachu.

Now Trista would be able to respond to Ash's comments for her question.

"When Serena first met Luna and received her transformation brooch, she was shocked. She didn't want to spend her life fighting evil and chasing after the bad guys. Still being 14, Serena's mind was more focused on playing video games and reading comic books. You'd probably feel like you were talking to a different girl if you met her at the time. But now, realizing her destiny, Serena has changed a lot."

While sipping his warm drink, Ash pondered on these words. It was true that Serena wasn't the heroine that he thought of her to be. To think of her old personality reminded Ash of himself; he'd experienced and went through the same types of changes. It pleased him to learn about what Serena used to be like. He had difficulty picturing Serena with her old character.

"On Luna's part, she's very impressed with Serena's progress as a future queen. That's probably the reason she acted so tough on her and Rini like you told me. It's because she cares a lot for both of them. And speaking of Rini, I should deal with her tomorrow. I became disappointed after hearing about her situation with the Luna Pen," Trista furthered her words, also tasting her hot chocolate.

Ash liked this idea of Trista's. That way his mind wouldn't be stuffed with Rini, how she'd danced with him and not give a specific reason. That was the first girl that Ash had ever danced with, and for whatever reason she had the spiky-haired boy wouldn't know until Trista spoke with her.

* * *

**The next day**

Few people were seen trailing down the streets because it was raining outside, stone-gray skies and a scarcity of clouds included.

To her luck, Rei's working shift contained less hours, letting her free around 5 o' clock. At the moment, the Crown Fruit Parlor's time was 1:33 p.m.

Rei spent her break while sitting on a chair in the employee's room behind the cash register, already sharing a conversation with Luna through her scout communicator. She'd finally been told of the fiasco at Andrew's costume party, not a detail missed; there was so much Rei wanted to say towards Rini now but it seemed futile, with the young girl already aware.

"Well, if it's fine with her parents, I'll use my last paycheck to replace Andrew's music set," Rei suggested.

"Serena hasn't told them yet. Her mother is on a trip with Sammie in California, while her father's traveling around Australia for business matters. Even if they were here, I'm sure Serena isn't ready to tell them. I know all of this can be mended soon. You girls just need to use this winter break as time for more meetings," Luna made this brief speech.

"Wait. Remember I'm busy paying back for my room damages, Luna," Rei informed with a sweat drop on her head.

"Oh. Yes, that's right. Guess that slipped from my mind. But that doesn't mean you can't join us when your off work. Your input is still important," Luna assured Rei.

"Right," a tiny smile lit up on Rei's face. "Well, any minute now Lizzie's gonna come and drag me back to the cash register. So I'll talk to you soon. And thanks for the info on last night."

"Don't mention it, Rei. You had a right to know. Bye for now, and good luck with work!"

The screen on Rei's watch turned off, and so she got up from her chair then walked towards the door that lead to the parlor itself. At least every table was occupied by one or more costumers; a pair of them being Trista and Rini, not to mention a familiar duo of blond pigtails who were seen at the table next to theirs; in between was a wall divider, so Trista or Rini didn't notice.

* * *

With Trista busy mending to her business with Rini, Ash had decided to take Pikachu along with him to visit Ami's home. He felt that it was the least he could do when him and the others were still recovering from last night's climatic event.

Questions started to fill in Ash's mind as he paced down the hallway with holding each backpack strap with his hands. The bag's zipper was opened in order for Pikachu to breathe or look through its hole.

'I wonder if Ami's still upset at me for last night. It makes me feel guilty to know that she was standing by herself, while I went off and danced with... Rini.'

Ash could barely recite her name, while just thinking about those exciting moments he shared with her. If Rini's identity were revealed, Ash would've been hesitant to dance with Darien's child; he'd feel content staying by Ami's side, viewing the other party guests enjoy themselves.

The question of Ami's chess tickets remained unanswered. She couldn't be positive about Ash's decision. Still, no matter how Ami looked at the situation, Ash was her last hope as someone who'd not think of chess as dull and boring. Her best friends were unaware of Lita presenting the free admissions, yet Ami right away sensed doubt in the idea of asking one of them.

While sitting at the dinner table in one of the wooden chairs, Ami with both elbows on the table held both chess slips in her hands and stared at them, thinking of Ash. If he actually declined, then Ami would be most obliged to handing her tickets over to Melvin. But the description of both chess game challenger brought interest to her; chances like these weren't always easy of obtaining, that was the way Ami figured it.

Sure enough, the idea of Rini mingling with Ash while dancing hadn't escaped her mind. Ami was also disappointed in Rini, but with her usual quiet personality didn't express much reaction; more concern than Luna held.

Suddenly a few knocks at the door interrupted Ami's thoughts. She set down her tickets on the clear table, then rose from the furniture and headed for the door. Ami had wondered what guest would be at the door around this time. She almost became startled, seeing that her visitor was Ash when he'd just been on her mind.

Before anything was said, both young scholar and Pokemon Trainer stared at each other with depressive expressions before parting their lips to speak. Ash had felt so willing to owe Ami an apology, Ami truly curious of hearing his response about her chess tickets. Pikachu finally poked out its head and noticed this silent moment, wondering what either human was thinking about.

* * *

After this failure, Lola wasn't sure what to think. She'd used two powerful Daimons, only to have them be defeated by a group of mere girls and a pint-sized rat. Lola believed that after this third time of not completing her task, that Professor Tomoe would fire her, and without hesitating look upon Eugeal for employment. With that taking place, Eugeal would learn of Lola's mistakes, and most likely snicker about them for the rest of her life, being the woman who proved herself and not Lola.

The developed fear of losing her job never left her mind. Twice Lola had been close to achieving a Pure Heart. Being outnumbered was a possible cause, but at the time Lola behaved as though it didn't affect her. However she couldn't excuse herself when her defeats were already clarified.

Wearing a large emerald-colored rain jacket that reached her ankles, a scarlet t-shirt and boots, and jet-black pants, Lola was making her way down the sidewalk while the rain was beating down on her.

Thankfully, the young girl remembered where her destination was. She worried about if the person she were looking for was inside and not busy elsewhere.

* * *

Forgetting about the end of her break arising, Rei walked towards Serena and took the empty seat across from hers.

"Oh, hi Rei."

Serena was almost startled by her friend's appearance. At the moment she was busy eavesdropping on Rini and Trista's conversation.

After hearing the story of Serena's dispute with Luna, Rei had to gather her words and formulate them. She wasn't quick to fussing at Serena because the more complicated portion of their issue was Rini.

"Hey," Rei placed her elbows on the table and began with a calm tone. "Luna told me about the problem from last night. My first guess as to who was causing trouble was you, but then Luna added the details."

At this moment, Serena would've snapped at Rei for her typical accusation, but this problem was too serious to add silliness. More than Rini thought, she'd affected everyone around her in a big manner.

Trista and Rini were chatting, but about casual topics, so Serena moved her ear away from the wall and gave her full attention to Rei.

"Yeah... I still haven't recovered from it yet. This isn't the Rini I know. Did Luna tell you the part where she danced with Ash?"

Before responding, Rei had to give some thought and toss her disbelief aside.

"What? What do you mean they danced?" the Hikawa Priestess leaned further into the table and stared at Serena with curiosity.

Serena laid her arms on the table before sharing her explanation.

"Yesterday at the party, Mina showed up in some outfit that looked like Pikachu. She thought Ash would like it, but instead it just freaked everyone out. So then when she asks Ash to dance with her, Rini steps in and gets his approval."

This reply alone was too much for Rei. It was as if she'd been working too many hours and missed a lot of her pal's lives. It hadn't been a week, and already drama was birthing.

Few minutes of silence took place before either Serena or Rei spoke.

"None of it makes sense," Rei stated while glancing at the table. "Does Rini have feelings for Ash and we're just blind to it?"

"Rini and Ash?"

When Serena mentioned their names, she tried imaging their closeness in her mind, but it felt awkward; seeing Rini also go after the Pokemon Trainer like Mina seemed unnatural.

It was during Serena and Rei's moment of wonder that other factors came and paused them.

"There you are, Rei. Come on, its time to get back to work," Lizzie informed, standing in front of Serena and Rei's table.

After watching Rei leave from the table, Lizzie smiled at Serena.

"Hi Serena. Would you like anything to drink?"

"No. I'm not so much in the mood for any smoothies today."

Even with Lizzie's surprised reaction, Serena plastered a fake smile onto her lips. She didn't want to bring worry to the cheery girl.

"..Oh, well OK. See you later then," Lizzie concluded, leaving from her table.

After that short conversation, Serena returned to leaning her ear against the wall to listen; and it had been good timing, because now Trista was talking with Rini about the subject she desired to hear about most.

"Rini. After everything that's happened, it leaves me thinking with one explanation. Do you have a secret crush on Ash?"

It seemed Rei was correct about Rini's motives. Serena became stupefied after hearing it twice. The anxious teenager made sure to listen intently for her potential child's answer.

"No. He's not that much of a talker, and too old for me."

"Once you get to know Ash, he's a very interesting boy, and he only outgrows you by two years," Trista made this verbal counter attack.

At this point, there was nothing else for Rini to say. All she could do was give in to Trista's reasons and admit her truth. This whole time the pigtailed girl thought she could gain her heart's desires just because of her status. No one would tell her different because she was innocent and young-minded; for her bright personality, she deserved anything. In Rini's world, this made total sense, and for no one would it change.

Rini kept her tiny arms folded while keeping her ruby eyes away from Trista's. She couldn't look at her; not now when she couldn't think of any words to retaliate with. Rini's stubborn characteristic was revealed in a bold form of way.

* * *

The entire time Lola walked through the grassy field's stone path, she remained hesitant. After everything that happened, the individual probably wouldn't want to see her. Reasons for even deciding to pay a visit weren't fully thought over in Lola's mind. It was a simple action that she wanted to take; just a matter which the 18-year old wanted to try for the heck of it.

Lola finally approached the front door. Her palms sweated even before she rang the doorbell. In the back area of her mind, a voice advised Lola not to continue with her plan. But the young woman pushed this small warning away, furthering to pressing the home's audible bell.

To Lola's surprise, the front door was opened by a woman. This beautiful person had long brown hair with bangs, peach skin, and jade-green eyes, meanwhile she was dressed in a crimson and magenta night robe; Lola couldn't believe what she was seeing, and didn't hesitate to assuming the worst.

"Can I help you?" asked the young woman.

"Ummm... yeah! I was just looking for someone named Andrew, but I have a feeling this isn't the right house."

"Oh. But someone named Andrew does live here. You mean my fiancee."

Now a sharper knife was entering Lola's heart. Hearing "fiancee" was enough to break her down. Especially with this woman's presence, hopes of meeting up with Andrew were futile.

So Lola carried on with her true emotions hiding.

Andrew's girlfriend was slightly taken aback when she noticed how rapidly Lola walked away from the door after giving her response. In the beginning, she didn't know who Lola was, so she simply made a shrug with her shoulders and returned inside Andrew's mansion, closing the door behind her.

* * *

It was still raining when Lola now walked at a slower pace down the street.

The fact that her life was entering a dark abyss didn't lay too far. She wasn't succeeding with her Death Buster career, meanwhile she'd just been slapped in the face by reality. Lola didn't understand any of it. It wasn't everyday she saw or met guys like Andrew, or when she got jobs. And now, it felt like both of those factors were slipping away. And because of one group of tacky superheroes and a single mangy rat?

Thinking about this began to anger Lola, as she clenched her fists and glared with her eyes at the road ahead of her. There had to be a way to change everything in her life for the better. But it had to start with revenge on that rotten Sailor Moon.

**TO BE CONTINUED IN...**

**-SAILOR MOON S: LIKE THE DIAMOND SHE IS-**

**

* * *

End of Act VII: Part I**

**SonicxReiHino: *screen fades in from black* Well, that's it, so far. I think I know how people are going to feel, but I also feel like working on this. But I need more time for my other stories. They've been untouched for a long time.**

**Batthan: Yeah, that makes sense. Even though I love this story.**

**SonicxReiHino: Believe me. I'm excited for what's gonna happen next. But there's other stories to be updated. Besides that, I wanted to try the "to be continued" thing. ^^**

**Batthan: My main worry is about Lita. I hope she and Ash works things out.**

**SonicxReiHino: Well, it's like I've been saying. Until the beginning of... SAILOR MOON S: LIKE THE DIAMOND SHE IS! *screen fades into black***


End file.
